Guardian Spirit
by Blackheart214
Summary: The story of Kenshin Hogasha, a young man that became a Soul Reaper in order to gain the strength to protect the ones he cared about. Rating is likely to change but haven't decided it yet. NemuxOC and possible KenpachixRetsu.
1. Chapter 1

**Well here is my first Bleach fanfic. I hope it's good. Fair warning: I'm not too knowledgeable about some things in Bleach since I got into the series late. So if I get anything wrong tell me**

**DISCLAIMER~ Bleach is the sole property of Tite Kubo. I only own my OC, Kenshin Hogasha. **

The sun beat down hard on the seventy-eighth district in the East Rokungai. Everyone was doing their best to stay cool. Some stayed in their homes or in the shade. Those unfortunate enough to not have homes were hiding in the shadows of the alleys of the seedy district.

Orphans were running through the streets doing their best not stay in the sun. One of them was walking shirtless through the streets, sweating bullets, and doing his best not to succumb to heat stroke. His black hair had grown long from never once being cut and was matted from the heat. This boy was named Kenshin Hogasha.

Kenshin had been in the seventy-eighth district for as long as he could remember. He couldn't really remember when he died since he was very young at the time. He now had the appearance of a thirteen year old, though he stopped keeping tracking of his age a while ago.

He didn't have any family as far as he knew. He had been alone since the day he arrived. He survived the same way the orphans did- he stole when he needed food. He didn't keep most of it though since there were other orphans that were too young to fend for themselves so he shared his food with them. That was the way Kenshin was. He had this powerful need to protect others even at the expense of himself. This led him to have a pretty thin body that was devoid of any fat what so ever. He wasn't emaciated like some of the other orphans but he still looked malnourished.

His stomach rumbled from the last two days that he went without food. He didn't like stealing but he had to if he wanted to survive. He saw a fruit stand not too far from where he was. The owner was leaning back in his chair fanning himself with a paper fan and wearing a bamboo shade to cover his head from the sun. Kenshin looked at it for a few moments and noticed that the man seemed pretty lethargic, most likely due to the heat. Stealing from him wouldn't be too hard. Kenshin ran towards the fruit stand and grabbed an apple before taking off a quickly as he could. The man looked up in time to see Kenshin run off with the apple and was about to chase him but it was too hot to be running after a kid who only stole one fruit. So he settled for shouting obscenities at the young boy.

Kenshin rounded the corner and stopped. He wiped the sweat off his brow and rubbed the apple clean against his pants. He held it up and smiled at it; the thought of finally getting to eat making him ecstatic.

He was about to take his first bite until he heard a noise that sounded like moaning. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a girl holding her stomach as she walked. She looked like she was in pain. Finally she collapsed onto the ground.

Kenshin rushed over to her body and turned so she was lying on her back. The girl had mid-length strawberry blonde hair and a very pretty face. She looked not too older than Kenshin. She was at least a couple inches taller than him and her bust was certainly much bigger than most girls her age- an observation that made Kenshin blush a bit. Her face was filthy as were her clothes and her skin was pale. She looked like she hadn't eaten in a week. A few moans escaped her lips and her eyes seemed to drift off into space.

"Hey, are you alright" Kenshin asked with concern. He was worried this girl might die at any second.

The girl only moaned in response as she looked over at Kenshin. Her eyes widened when she laid her eyes on the apple in his hand. Kenshin noticed this and groaned inwardly. He was really looking forward to finally eating all of his food instead of sharing it. But still he couldn't just let this girl go on like this. So with a sigh he lifted her head up held the apple close to her face.

"Eat this" he said.

She eagerly obliged and bit into quickly and chewed as fast as she could so she could get her second bite. Kenshin let her take hold of it and sat her up so she could eat on her own. When half the apple was gone she stopped eating and took a moment to look over her savior. She noticed he was staring at the half eaten fruit in her hands. She looked back and forth between the two a few times and the realization hit her.

"Is this your apple" she asked, feeling a little ashamed.

"O-oh no, it's… it's fine. You need it more than I do" he said with a weak smile.

She shook her head and held it out for him to take.

"No, it's yours. You must be hungry too. I'm grateful that you would share it with me" she said with a small smile.

Kenshin looked at her and then the apple and then his stomach rumbled… rather loudly. The girl stifled a laugh and Kenshin blushed in embarrassment. With a sigh he took the half-eaten apple and took a bite, relishing in the taste and satisfaction it brought his stomach.

"Thanks" he said with a smile. "But you must still be hungry".

"I am but, I don't want you to suffer because of me".

"It's alright. I couldn't just let you starve".

"Thank you".

"What's your name" Kenshin asked curiously after he took another bite of his apple.

"It's Rangiku… Rangiku Matsumoto" she said with a kind smile.

"I'm Kenshin Hogasha" he said returning her smile.

They then heard the sound of laughter. It came from multiple people. Kenshin looked to see one of the local gang of bullies that acted like they owned the whole district. There were six altogether. Kenshin had to put up with them before. They always stole food from starving kids that were too weak to fight back. Kenshin defended a little boy and baby sister from them once. His reward was getting beaten into the dirt.

Kenshin glared at them as they stared at him and Rangiku with wicked grins on their faces. Though, behind the grins that were given to Rangiku were also lecherous thoughts. Their leader, a boy that looked only slightly older than Kenshin with greasy blonde hair and a scar that ran through his eyebrow, stepped forward with a heavy stick resting on his shoulder.

"Hey Kenshin. It's been a while since we've seen you around. You still sharing your food with the other brats around this rat hole"?

Kenshin only glared at him as he stood up. Rangiku looked back and forth between them, a little scared about what was going on.

"Oh! And who this you have here with you" he said once he noticed Rangiku.

"She's quite a looker. Maybe she'd be willing to do a few "things" for us if we give her some food" he said, licking his lips, as his eyes trailed all over Rangiku's body, sending a few chills down her spine.

"Leave her alone, Shingo" Kenshin said as he moved in front of Rangiku.

"Well now, little Kenshin wants to protect someone again. We hate when you do that Kenshin. It ruins are fun. Believe it or not beating on you gets a little tiring. Why don't you just let us have this pretty piece of tail and maybe we'll lay off you for a little while" he said with a smirk as he tried to move past Kenshin to get to Rangiku.

"I said leave her alone" Kenshin said sternly as he pushed Shingo away from Rangiku and on to the ground.

His gang tensed up and glared at Kenshin, waiting for their leader to give the order to run him into the ground.

Shingo quickly got onto his feet and gave a hateful glare at Kenshin.

"You never listen do you _'hero'_" he snarled at Kenshin. "Now we need to teach you **another **lesson" he said with an evil smirk growing on his face. "Get 'em guys" he ordered his gang.

The group smiled wickedly at the two. Some cracked their knuckles in anticipation of the upcoming brawl. Kenshin stood his ground and looked back at Rangiku.

"Run! Get out of here!" he shouted to her.

"But…" she said with concerned eyes. She didn't want him getting hurt for her sake.

"Just go! I'll be fine" he shouted once more.

Rangiku looked at him for a few more seconds then reluctantly nodded. She quickly got to her feet and took off running. She looked back once more to see the gang surround Kenshin and then looked forward and continued her escape.

Kenshin stood stone still while Shingo's gang formed a circle around him. One of them charged at him first and sent a fist towards Kenshin. He evaded it and retaliated with a punch of his own, knocking the boy of his feet. Another came from behind and bum rushed Kenshin to the ground. Kenshin responded by kicking his legs out from under him and sending him down to join him. After that, the entire gang moved in on Kenshin and started kicking and punching him while. Kenshin was unable to do much at this point. They outnumbered him and wouldn't give him a chance to fight back so he just laid there on the ground and took it.

Rangiku rounded a corner, already out of breath from the running with barely any energy or strength left to begin with. She ran until she tripped over her own feet and fell face first into the dirt. She groaned in pain and felt tears trying to force their way through their eyes. She left Kenshin to be beaten to a pulp and she could do nothing to help him. She felt so useless.

"Hey, you okay" a voice called out.

Rangiku looked up to see a young man with short silver hair and fox-like grin on his face walking towards her. He knelt down and offered a hand to help her up.

"Quite a fall you took there. Want some help" he asked with a cheerful tone.

Rangiku was taken aback. This was the second act of kindness performed for her today. She slowly took his hand and was lifted back up to her feet.

"Thank you" she said as she wiped away her tears.

"No problem. But what were you running from" he asked curiously.

Rangiku then remembered Kenshin. She though maybe this young man could help her.

"There's a boy back there getting beat up by a bunch thugs. He told me to run away so I wouldn't get hurt. Please, we have to help him" she begged.

"Calm down! I'll see what I can do. Where is he"?

"This way" Rangiku said as she took his hand and led him to the spot where she left Kenshin.

When they neared the street where Kenshin was last seen, Rangiku peeked around the corner to see if that gang was still there.

Sure enough, they were and they were still beating Kenshin. They were kicking him while he just laid on the ground. Rangiku could barely see past them and couldn't tell how Kenshin was.

"That's enough" she heard Shingo order.

She wanted to run over and help him but the boy she brought with her held her back.

"We have to help him" she said desperately.

"There's not much we can do for him at this point. They outnumber us and you're not strong enough to fight them. Just wait. When they leave we'll go get him" he said as he watched the scene.

Rangiku didn't like this plan at all. She didn't want to just watch someone who protected her get beaten. She couldn't even believe that he would suggest that. But at the same time, she couldn't deny that he was mostly right. She couldn't do much in her state and even if she was at her best, what could she and one stranger do against six guys. So, reluctantly she watched as a few tears streamed down her cheeks.

Shingo walked towards Kenshin's limp body. Kenshin was trying to get up but it was a great stuggle for him. Shingo stood over him and stared at him for a moment before bring his stick down, very hard on Kenshin. He grunted in pain and went back to lying limp on the ground. But Shingo wasn't done yet. He raised his stick back up again and started to hit Kenshin several times.

"This… is… what… you… get… when… you… act… like… a… hero" he shouted as he assaulted Kenshin.

Shingo stopped his attack to take a breath and then brought his stick down on Kenshin for a final time.

"Let's go, guys. I'm tired of this punk" he said as he walked away. They all obeyed and followed him down the street.

When they were out of sight, Rangiku ran for Kenshin's body with the young man following closely behind. She was scared. He wasn't moving and as she got closer she could see the full extent of the damage he received.

She knelt down beside Kenshin and gasped at all the cuts and bruises that were left on him. His breathing was shallow which caused her further panic.

He gave out a groan and turned his head when he felt the presence of another person.

"Rangiku?" he rasped.

"I'm so sorry" she said with tears in her eyes.

"What this? It's fine. I've taken beatings like this before" he said with a weak chuckle, which caused him to wince from the pain.

"He's in pretty bad shape" Gin said as knelt down on the other side of Kenshin.

Kenshin looked turned his head to look at the stranger next to him.

"Who are you"?

"Oh that's right! I was so worried I never even asked for your name" Rangiku said a little embarrassed.

"That's okay; you were worried about your friend. It's Gin by the way. Gin Ichimaru" he said with grin.

"Your friend here wanted to rush in and save you but I kept her from being seen" Gin said to Kenshin.

"Thanks for keeping her safe Gin. My names Kenshin Hogasha" he said with a weak smile.

"I'm Rangiku Matsumoto".

"Nice to meet both of you, though the circumstances could be a little better".

Kenshin and Rangiku chuckled lightly and had to admit he was right. Gin then gently lifted Kenshin's arm over his shoulder and helped him to stand. Rangiku did the same with his other arm.

"I'm really sorry Kenshin" Rangiku apologized, yet agan.

"It's alright. Don't worry about. I think I've gotten used to Shingo and his gang beating me" he said with a small smile.

"Is there anyway I can make it up to you"?

"Right now, I just want to lie down" he said weakly.

"Well I got a place where you guys can rest. I got a little food to spare to" Gin said.

Rangiku and Kenshin were thrilled to hear that.

"That'd be great" Kenshin said.

**Well how is it so far? I know it's a slow chapter but I thought it would be better than just starting out with Kenshin's inevitable graduation from the Soul Reaper Academy, as I had originally planned.**

**Please review, it makes me happy.**


	2. Chapter 2

**For the record this is actually the first story I've completely thought through.**

**After I reread the last chapter I was shocked at how many errors I made. But don't worry I went back and fixed it.**

**And to ****Jp3711nc1~ yes I do have plans for Retsu and Kenpachi. Retsu Unohana recently became one of my favorite female characters in Bleach and I also became a fan of the RetsuXKenpachi paring. Both of them are going to play big parts in this story but not until the later chapters. Right now the focus is on Kenshin, Rangiku, and Gin and there inevitable rise to Soul Reapers.**

**Anyway I digress, on with the story!**

"Come on Kenshin! It's not that hard" Rangiku said to her friend who was holding his hands out in front of him with a look of concentration on his face.

"That's easy for you to say" Kenshin said in a strained voice as his tried his best to concentrate on his task. His body started shaking and sweat was dripping down his face and his eyes refused to blink.

Finally after another minute, he did it. A small blue orb appeared between his hands. He relaxed his body and left out a sigh and then smiled at his work. He had successfully manifested some of his spiritual energy.

"Not bad, for your first time Kenshin" Rangiku praised.

"Thanks, though it's still not a big as yours" he said with a small grin and dispelled the orb.

"I guess just have a natural talent" she said smugly.

"Don't get cocky; someday I'll be better than you".

"But not someday soon" she teased.

"Getting mad Rangiku" Kenshin said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh relax, I'm just having some fun" she said with an innocent smile.

"Whatever. Where's Gin? I'm getting hungry" he said as he looked over his shoulder to see of his other companion was coming.

The two were currently sitting on some crates by the river under the bridge. Today was Gin's turn to go out and get lunch.

It had been several years since that day Kenshin found Rangiku nearly dying of starvation in the street. After she and Gin helped him recover from his assault, the three had quickly formed a close friendship.

Gin had let them stay in him in the small shack he owned. It was kind of a tight fit but Rangiku and Kenshin knew it was better than lying in the streets. Gin had acquired enough food to keep them all fed for a couple of weeks before they needed to start stealing more. They looked out for each other and kept each other safe. Though it was usually Kenshin and Gin who ended up protecting Rangiku the most since her ever-growing breast and her pretty face attracted a lot of perverted men; though she flaunted her assets purposely, much to the chagrin of Kenshin who took most of punches to keep Rangiku from being touched. But despite all the two formed an unbreakable bond, much like that of a brother and sister. Kenshin was willing to risk his life to protect Rangiku and she would do same for him. Though, she liked referring to him as his little brother since she was slightly taller than him- an act that irritated him greatly. Even now she was still several inches taller than him while Kenshin hadn't done much growing. Even Gin was already taller than both of them. Kenshin hadn't changed much except that, since he was now fed daily his body didn't look so malnourished and he appeared to be quite fit. His hair had grown slightly longer, reaching the middle of his back.

They had only recently started playing around with their spiritual energy after they found out that they had large amount. However, out of all three of them Gin clearly had the most and was able to manifest as if it were as simple an act as breathing. It didn't take too long for Rangiku to manifest hers and she did have quite a bit of it. Kenshin on the other hand had the hardest time. Though it was known he had a lot of spiritual energy, he didn't know how to control it very well. Though there instances were he would be defending Rangiku or some other helpless person and his spiritual energy would flare and send his enemies running.

"Oh look there's Gin" Rangiku said as she pointed in the direction of their friend.

He was coming to them with a small basket full of dumplings.

"Looks like quite a score Gin" Kenshin complimented.

"It was no problem at all. Stealing from some of these people is just way too easy sometimes" he said with his usual fox-like grin as he tossed some dumplings their way.

"Hey Gin, Kenshin finally did it" Rangiku said.

"Really? It's about time Kenshin. I thought ya never figure it out" he said as he sat on one the crates and bit into his dumpling.

"What's that supposed to mean"?!

"That you're stupid" Rangiku said jokingly.

"Don't forget who always saves you from being molested Rangiku. My bruises should serve as a reminder"!

"Jeez you really can't take a joke Kenshin" she said with a sigh.

"She's right Kenshin, we're just messin with ya. We knew you'd get eventually".

"Whatever" he said with an annoyed look on his face as he bit into his dumpling.

"Just keep practicing and then we can become Soul Reapers and leave this place for good" Gin said.

Once the trio learned of their spiritual energies, they all agreed to that someday they'd get away from the hell that was the seventy-eighth district and live in the Seireitei as Soul Reapers. Kenshin wasn't so sure about it at first since he had never once thought about ever becoming a Soul Reaper. He consented to it because he didn't want to get left behind and he had to admit he was sick of living in the Rukon District.

"It shouldn't be a problem for you Gin. You're definitely the strongest of the three of us. You could go right now if you wanted" Kenshin pointed out.

"Aw c'mon, I wouldn't leave you guys behind" Gin said with a light chuckle.

"Yeah Kenshin, we're all leaving together" Rangiku said with a cheerful tone.

Kenshin smiled at his friend's excitement. Now that he found out how to control his spiritual energy it wouldn't be long before they would be leaving the Rukon District for good.

By the time they finished their lunch it was mid-afternoon. They all decided to head back to the shack and practice with their powers some more.

"If anyone needs to practice it's you Kenshin. We're waiting on you" Rangiku teased as the trio walked down the streets.

"I'm trying as hard as I can! Not all of us can be gifted like you and Gin" he said.

"Maybe you just have no talent. Maybe we should just leave you here" she said with a mischievous grin.

"You wouldn't" Kenshin said, slightly alarmed.

"Of course not. You're my little brother. I would never leave you behind" Rangiku said with a kind smile.

Kenshin smiled back. Rangiku was only joking of course. She did it often but the thought that she and Gin might disappear from his life scared him.

"Besides you're hopeless without me" she said with a laugh and patted his head.

Kenshin growled and felt his cheeks heating up from embarrassment. He started swatting her hand away.

"Damn it Rangiku, I'm not a little kid" he grumbled.

"But you are little" she said as she patted his head once more.

"At this rate you'll be too small for me to see".

"With the way your breasts are growing you probably can't even see your own feet" Kenshin mumbled.

Unfortunately, his comment didn't go unheard by Rangiku who grabbed his head pushed into her breasts, suffocating him. After a few seconds she let Kenshin go.

"That's no way to talk about a lady Kenshin" she chided.

"I wasn't aware I was talking about one" he mumbled again.

Rangiku's fist nearly drilled into his head and she walked away insulted.

"Ow" Kenshin groaned as he rubbed his head.

"Packs quite a punch doesn't she" Gin said as he stepped up beside Kenshin.

"Tell me about it" Kenshin grumbled. "Now she's mad me" he said solemnly.

"She'll get over it. You're her brother remember. She won't stay mad for too long".

"Thanks Gin".

"Don't mention it" his friend said with a pat on his shoulder.

"Gin do you really think we can become Soul Reapers" Kenshin asked.

He knew it would be no problem for Gin or even Rangiku. Kenshin's question was directed more towards himself.

"What're you so worried about Kenshin? Even if you can't perfect control over your spiritual energy you have more than enough to become a Soul Reaper".

"I guess it's just the thought of you and Rangiku leaving me behind if I don't make it" he said solemnly.

"Is that all" Gin asked with a chuckle. "Kenshin we'd never leave you behind. Didn't you just hear Rangiku"?

"But I don't want to hold you guys back. If you have the chance to get out this hell hole you should take it".

"That's why me and Rangiku are going to help you so you can come with us".

Kenshin smiled lightly. Gin's words made him feel much better. Now he felt more confident about becoming a Soul Reaper.

"Now c'mon, let's go find Rangiku" Gin said as he light pushed Kenshin along.

"Where did she go anyway"?

"Most likely back to the shack. She couldn't have gotten far".

They continued walking when they noticed something in the sky. There was smoke not too far from where they were.

"Is someone having a bonfire" Kenshin asked.

"No, that's coming from the shack!" Gin said and then took off running.

"What"?! Kenshin shouted as he ran after Gin.

His thought wandered to Rangiku. He wondered if she was in the shack while it was on fire and ran faster.

When they came up to the shack, they found the source of the fire.

Shingo and his gang were standing in front of the burning shack that had been Kenshin's shelter for the last few years. A couple of them were holding torches and cheered as they watched the small structure burn to the ground. On the ground next to Shingo was Rangiku. She seemed to be unconscious and there was blood dripping down the side of her head.

"Rangiku" Kenshin shouted as he ran for her.

Shingo heard this and turned around. An evil smirk spread onto his face when he saw Kenshin.

"There you are Kenshin. I was wondering when you'd show up" he said nonchalantly.

"What the hell did you do" Kenshin demanded as he glared at Shingo.

"What does it look like? You had this cozy little spot all to yourselves and were loaded with food! You know that we're the ones that get to eat first Kenshin. So as punishment for not sharing your food we burnt your little home to the ground. This bitch just happened to catch what we were doing and was about to run off to get you. So, I had to…"politely" ask her to stop" he said as if what he had done was no big deal whatsoever.

Kenshin had a glare of pure hatred directed at Shingo. His fist clenched tightly and made light cracking sounds.

Gin's usual cheerful grin made a rare disappearance and was overcome by a frown and his eyes cracked open to reveal red.

Both boys stood side by side glaring at the group that in the course of a day had ruined their lives.

"Gin"?

"Yeah, let's do it" he said, cracking his knuckles.

"You two are going to stop us?!" Shingo asked incredulously and then he and his gang burst into laughter.

"Fine. We'll kick the crap out of you two and then later we'll have some fun with your friend here" he said looking down at Rangiku who was still unconscious.

"You won't lay a hand on her" Kenshin said threatengly.

Shingo laughed again but stopped when he felt his throat go dry and he found he was unable to move. He wasn't alone. His entire gang started going pale. It felt like the air around them was pushing down on them.

This was the result of the combined spiritual pressure of Gin and Kenshin.

"Now" Kenshin said and then he and Gin were charging at the group at full speed, intent on administering a punishment of their own.

The gang quickly recovered when they saw the two boys coming at them. The charged as well though each seemed to be very difficult for them to make.

Gin was the first to make contact. He took on three while Kenshin took on the other two, leaving Shingo to watch.

Gin grabbed the arm of one that sent a jab at him and spun him in a circle before throwing him at the other two, sending them all to the round.

Kenshin bobbed and weaved and occasionally blocked hits from the two he was fighting before dropping to the ground and performing a sweep kick on one and punching the other in the groin. Both fell to the ground with a thud and groaned in pain and humiliation at being bested so easily.

Shingo looked on in shock as his gang was sent to the ground by just two guys; one of which he used to beat on a regular basis. A bead of sweat dripped down his face in fear. He held his stick up in defense and started to take a few steps back. Kenshin saw this and ran after him. Shingo swung his stick only for it to be caught by Kenshin who pulled it from Shingo.

"C-c'mon Kenshin, t-there's no need for this. W-we can work this out. I leave the district for good; you'll never see me again. Please, just don't hurt me" he pleaded on his knees.

His plea unfortunately fell on deaf ears as Kenshin reared the stick back.

"You should have thought of this when you hurt my friends" Kenshin shouted before swinging the stick at Shingo's face.

It collided with his cheek, hard. The force sent a few of Shingo's teeth flying out of his mouth along with a mouthful of blood. Shingo fell to the ground; blood oozing out of his gaping mouth. Kenshin through the stick at his limp body and went to check on Rangiku.

Gin was already by her side trying to wake her up. She groaned before opening her eyes and holding her head in pain.

"Kenshin? Gin? What happened"?

"Shingo knocked you out. But don't worry he's not going to be much of a problem for anyone for a while" Kenshin said with a smile.

"What about the shack"?

Gin and Kenshin looked back at the shack to see what kind of damage had been done and see if anything was salvageable. All hope faded when they say the charred remains of what once there home.

"It's gone" Rangiku said sadly. "Everything's gone".

Kenshin stood up and walked closer to his old home. Sure enough there was nothing left. There blankets and food were all gone.

Kenshin didn't know how they were going to survive after this. He didn't want to go back to living without food and shelter and he was positive his friends had no desire to do such a thing either.

That's when Kenshin decided that there was only one way to save himself and his friends.

"Guys… lets leave this place. Let's go to the Sereitei and become Soul Reapers… now" he said with a look of determination.

His friends looked at him for a minute before nodding in agreement.

**Finally, they're leaving! Now I can write about the Shinigami Academy and really start this story off.**

**Please review, it makes me feel you care.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! Glad to know that people actually like this story. The first two chapter were kind of slow and I'm sorry for that but now that everyone's going to the Sereitei things can move along. Unfortunately the next couple of chapters or so will be about the Shinigami Academy. This sucks for three reasons.**

**1.) I don't know much about the academy or how it really works.**

**2.) I don't want to write it. I was originally planning to start this chapter with them graduating and getting to the better parts of the story.**

**3.) Since it wasn't in my original plot I have to spend more time making up the next couple of chapters so updates might be slow, unfortunately.**

**Since I don't know how the academy actually works I'm just going to make it up as I go. One thing I would like to point out is: Rangiku, Kenshin and Gin will not have their zanpaktous this chapter. I decided they would get them after they completed their first year since I'm pretty sure they don't just give you zanpaktous right from the get-go.**

**Now to answer one of the questions that Gratz1k asked-**

**I just want to make it known at this point that my character will not become a captain. I thought about but then I decided the story wouldn't be as good if he did.**

**As for your other questions you'll just have to wait and see.**

**_________________________________________________________________________**

"Wake up Kenshin! You're going to be late for class" Gin said to his friend who was still snoring loudly in his bed.

It had been a week since they left the Rukon District. They were registered into the Soul Reaper Academy on the day of their arrival. Kenshin and Gin got to be roommates while Rangiku got a room down the hall from them with a girl named Lisa Yadomaru.

It was a beautiful morning in the Sereitei and classes were going to start in about half an hour. Gin had spent the last twenty minutes trying to wake Kenshin up but to no avail. Kenshin was such a heavy sleeper.

Gin was already in his uniform when he heard a knock at his door.

"Who's there?" he called out.

"It's Rangiku".

Gin opened the door and sure enough, there was the bubby, and busty girl, all dressed in her academy uniform.

The two smiled at each other. Rangiku then looked over his shoulder and noticed Kenshin still lying in his bed. Her smile quickly turned into a frown.

"Is he still sleeping?!" she asked incredulously as she walked past him towards Kenshin's bed.

"I've tried to wake him up but he just lays their like rock" Gin said as he leaned back against the wall.

Rangiku stood beside Kenshin's bed and shook him a little.

"Kenshin come on, it's time to get up".

No response.

"Kenshin" she said a little louder and shook a little harder.

This time Kenshin rolled over so his back was turned to her.

Rangiku scowled and forced Kenshin to turn back over to her and held him by his night shirt. She then started slapping him back and forth across the face!

"KENSHIN! WAKE UP! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR CLASS!" she shouted.

Around the second or third slap, Kenshin finally came too. Around the fifth slap did he realize he was being hit by Rangiku.

"Rangiku! RANGIKU!" he shouted and she finally stopped smacking him. "I'M AWAKE!" he shouted.

She gave a mischievous smirk and smacked him one more time for good measure before letting him go.

"What was that for?" Kenshin demanded as he rubbed his red cheeks.

"Wash up and get your uniform on. Class will be starting any minute. Do you want to be late again?" she chided as she left the room.

Kenshin groaned and rubbed his tired eyes. He sat up and went into his and Gin's washroom. He splashed some water onto his face and dressed himself in his academy uniform.

He stared at himself in the mirror and took in his reflection. A week ago he was just some street urchin from the Rukon District. Now he was citizen of the Sereitei and a student at the Soul Reaper Academy. He smiled at how far he had come thanks to Gin and Rangiku. Without them he would probably be waking up in the streets right now, trying to find some food to steal.

"Kenshin, ya ready?" Gin asked from outside the door.

"Yeah, I'm all set" Kenshin said before stepping out of the washroom.

"Then let's go" Gin said as he stepped out of their room.

Rangiku and Lisa were waiting for them outside.

"About time" Lisa said in annoyance.

Lisa had been in the academy longer than the three of them. She was already a fourth year student and her marks were pretty high. She and Rangiku formed a friendship pretty quickly when they became roommates. Kenshin found her annoying since she made fun of his height more than Rangiku did. Kenshin was only a couple of inches shorter than both of them but he figured they only did it because out if the four of them Kenshin was the shortest. However, she still treated him as a friend because Rangiku called him her brother.

Kenshin ignored her comment and the group made their way to their first class, Zanjutsu training.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

In the classroom everyone sat on the floor near the wall. The teacher walked in and stood in front of all of them.

"Today you will be sparring against one another. Many of you have some experience in this class. As for those of you who have just recently arrived…" he said looking towards Gin, Kenshin, and Rangiku, "you have had a whole week to study the basics. Now you will show us what you've learned".

Kenshin gulped at the thought of going up against veteran students. True, he had some fighting experience that had been acquired through many harsh years in the Rukon District; not to mention his several encounters with Shingo before he finally gave him what he deserved. But he knew the depths of a Soul Reaper's skill. They could dispatch anyone in the Rukon District with little effort. Even the academy students that surrounded him could handle themselves perfectly fine against some of the Rukon Districts more dangerous characters. So what chance did he have against any of his classmates?

Gin sensed his fear and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder along with his trademark fox grin. Kenshin only grinned back. Gin just had a way of making Kenshin feel like anything was possible; which is why he agreed when Gin said they should become Soul Reapers. His confidence, which others confused with cockiness, was inspiring.

"Alright. Ichimaru! You go first" the teacher said.

Gin shrugged and stood up. He took a kendo stick from the rack on the other side of the room and stood in the center of the training circle. The teacher pointed at another student to be his opponent. The student grabbed a kendo stick and stood opposite to Gin. Both got into their stances, though Kenshin noticed Gin looked a little more relaxed; his ever-present grin serving as evidence.

"BEGIN" the teacher shouted.

The other student charged at Gin with his kendo stick raised over his head and brought it down as he closed the distance. Gin just stood still and then at the last second knelt down and thrust his kendo stick into his opponent's stomach. His gasped for air that was taken from him by the strike and dropped his kendo stick. He fell to the ground gripping his stomach and groaning in pain.

"Well done Ichimaru" the teacher complimented.

Kenshin, Rangiku and even Lisa applauded his victory. Gin grinned a little wider and gave them a bow before sitting back down in between Kenshin and Rangiku.

The teacher helped the defeated student back to his seat and then continued with the class.

"Next, Matsumoto. Why don't you show us your skill against Miss Yadomaru"?

Rangiku nodded and stood up, as did Lisa, the latter leaving her zanpaktou in her seat to fight with a kendo stick instead..

Kenshin watched, curious as to how Rangiku would fight since she never actually did any fighting in the Rukon District. He wanted to see how Lisa would do as well since she was three years their senior.

He watched as the girls exchanged words with each other, most likely discussing how no hard feeling would be held if one should beat the other. Then they got into their stances. The teacher shouted "BEGIN" and the spar started.

Rangiku and Lisa charged at each other and started exchanging strikes. Rangiku strikes had some power but they were nothing for the already experienced Lisa Yadomaru who was blocking and evaded every strike with little effort. Rangiku realized her attacks weren't doing much and decided to use a new tactic. She swung a horizontal strike aimed at Lisa's left side. Lisa moved her kendo stick to block it but she realized too late that it was a feint attack and Rangiku landed a hit on Lisa's right shoulder. Lisa grunted in mild pain and a triumphant smirk spread onto Rangiku's face. Lisa glared at her and responded by quickly crouching down and using her kendo stick to sweep at Rangiku's feet, sending her falling to the ground with a thud. She was about to get back up but Lisa put the tip of her Kendo stick to her face.

"Yield" she said with a small smile of triumph.

Rangiku sighed in defeat.

"Fine" she said.

Lisa smiled and lowered her weapon and offered Rangiku her hand. Rangiku smiled back and took it. Lisa helped her up and they both returned their kendo sticks.

Gin and Kenshin gave a small applause for them and they bowed lightly in gratitude before taking their seats.

"Not bad Matsumoto. And well done Yadomaru" he said to the two of them.

"Next, is Hogasha. Come up and show us what you've learned".

Kenshin felt his body shake a little. He looked to his friends and gave supportive smiles.

"You can do this" Gin said.

"Good luck" Lisa said.

"Try not to lose to badly" Rangiku said.

Kenshin gave her an annoyed look and she just giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. Kenshin allowed a small smiled to form on his lips. She was only joking and she had succeeded in making him feel a little less nervous.

That was Rangiku's way of helping. Her insults were never meant to demean him but help him grow. When she insulted him, it made him try a little harder.

He sighed and stood up and went to grab his kendo stick.

He met his opponent in the center of the circle.

His opponent was a smug looking boy with sharp facial features and bleach blonde hair that was greased back.

He eyed Kenshin in amusment.

"I don't expect too much from this fight. It's not like I have anything to fear from a pauper straight out of the Rukon District" he said smugly.

Kenshin glared at him trying to hide the sting from the comment.

This wasn't really new to him. There had been a few students he met that looked down on him and his friends for once living in the Rukon District. Kenshin learned early on that usually nobles, people from family's with some form of status in the Rukon District, or just people from the first few districts in general were more often admitted to the Sereitei than people from the far back Districts. This created a snobbish sense of superiority in some of the students and they weren't the least bit subtle about how they felt about people like Kenshin, Rangiku, and Gin.

"Kazoku, that's enough! I won't have you bad mouthing your opponent" the teacher said.

"Sorry sensei" he said insincerely with a shrug.

"Don't let it happen again. Now, take your stances. Ready… BEG-"the sensei stopped when he saw someone enter the room out of the corner of his eye.

His eyes widened when he saw who was.

Standing in the doorway to the class room was the Head Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise and a few gasps were heard. Kenshin stared in awe at the man who would soon become his Head Captain. He could tell just by looking at the man that despite his aged appearance, he had more power than Kenshin could ever begin to comprehend.

"Good morning Head Captain Yamamoto" the sensei said with a bow.

"Good morning Head Captain Yamamoto" the students all said in unison accompanied by bows.

"Good morning students" Yamamoto said with a smile.

"What brings you here Head Captain?" the sensei asked curiously.

"Well, it's has been sometime since I have last visited this academy and took a look at my future soldiers. So I though perhaps I should see what potential there is to be had" he said with a kind smile as he looked at the students.

"Of course, Head Captain. Please make yourself comfortable".

Yamamoto nodded and the looked at the two about to spar.

The sensei looked toward the two and nodded for them to return to their stances.

The two did so and stared each other down.

Kenshin stared with determination. His friends were watching, his class was watching, his opponent was watching, his sensei was watching, and more importantly the Head Captain was watching. Now was the time to give it everything he had and prove himself a worthy future soldier of Head Captain Yamamoto.

Kazoku on the other hand was staring at Kenshin with smugness, pride, over confidence; which was arrogance to anyone who noticed. His goal was to put the street urchin in his place and show off his skill in the eyes of the Head Captain.

"Head Captain would you like to do the honors?" the sensei asked.

"I'd be happy to" Yamamoto said with a kind smile.

"BEGIN FIGHTING" he said and then tapped his cane loudly on the floor.

Kazoku grinned and charged at Kenshin and prepped his strike. Kenshin steeled himself for the blow and stood in a defensive stance. He wasn't going to win this fight by making the first hits. He needed to watch and wait if he wanted to find an opening. So for now, the best thing to do was to stay on the defensive.

Kazoku swung in a horizontal arc at Kenshin's side. Kenshin parried the blow and knocked the kendo stick away. Kazoku came back with a thrust that Kenshin was able to side-step and then swing the kendo stick down diagonally towards Kenshin's leg. It connected and Kenshin was brought down to one knee. Kazoku made another strike aimed at Kenshin's head but luckily Kenshin held his kendo stick over him with his free hand on the end of the stick, effectively holding off the blow. Kazoku added some more force and Kenshin pushed back with enough force to counter it.

"You can't win this fight pauper" Kazoku said with a smug grin. "The only one that gets the Head Captain's attention is me. A street rat like you doesn't even deserve to fight someone like me" he droned.

He continued his monologue but Kenshin wasn't listening to it. He had to find a weak spot to end this quickly.

He thought back to all his friend's fights, trying to see if any of their moves would come in handy in his situation. Then he remembered how Lisa swept Rangiku off her feet and his plan was formed.

He pushed up against Kazoku's kendo stick with all the force he could muster, effectively ending his monologue. This surprised Kazoku, leaving him stunned and giving enough time for Kenshin to dash behind him and slam his kendo stick into the back of his legs. Kazoku fell to his knees and grunted in pain. He was then shocked to see that Kenshin stood beside him with his kendo stick against his throat.

There were cheers from his classmates, most of which came from Rangiku and Lisa. Gin applauded and gave Kenshin and wide grin. Even his sensei seemed impressed. Kenshin even gave a glance towards Yamamoto. The ancient looked at Kenshin and then gave him a small smile and a nod.

Kenshin was overwhelmed from all the appraisal. He smiled at his friends, taking his eyes off Kazoku.

This proved to be a mistake.

Kazoku brought his fist up against Kenshin's groin. All joy disappeared from Kenshin's face and was replaced by anguish.

Everyone gasped in shock at the new turn of events.

Kenshin dropped his kendo stick and fell to the ground, holding his groin in pain. Kazoku then stood up and held the tip of his kendo stick at Kenshin's neck.

"Looks like I win" he said smugly.

"You bastard!" Rangiku shouted in anger.

"What a sore loser" Lisa said in disgust.

Even Gin allowed his grin to disappear and let a scowl form on his lips

"The fight is over! Stand down at once Kazoku" the sensei ordered.

"Whatever" Kazoku said as he lowered his kendo stick.

Rangiku was the first one at Kenshin's side. Gin and Lisa followed after her.

"How could you?" Rangiku shouted at Kazoku.

"These sparring matches are supposed to be fair" Lisa stated.

"There's no need to be fair with street urchins like him" Kazoku said nonchalantly.

"Maybe you and I should fight for real" Gin said with a frown.

"Fine with me pauper".

"That's enough" Head Captain Yamamoto ordered as he came up behind the group.

"What is your name young man" Yamamoto asked Kazoku.

"Gouzen Kazoku sir" he said rather proudly.

"Then for the next week, you will be cleaning this entire academy spotless from top to bottom. This is your punishment for your cowardly and dishonorable actions" the Head Captain said with a frown.

Kazoku's calm and proud demeanor disappeared almost immediately after hearing this. He had expected adoration or congratulations on what he believed to be a win. And yet the Head Captain was instead punishing him instead?

"B-but sir…" he said in shock and confusion.

"If you can win the fight fairly then you must lose honorably and with dignity. Now go to the utility room and get your cleaning supplies. I will have one of staff here supervise you and you will not be sent to your room until they say you are done" Yamamoto said with finality.

Kazoku was about to argue the matter further but the glare the Head Captain gave him dropped any thought of it. Instead he nodded and bowed before leaving the room, sparing one last passing glare at Kenshin before he left.

Yamamoto then turned his attention to Kenshin who was being helped to his feet by his friends. There was still a look of pain on his face from the blow and he winced as he stood up.

"What is your name young man" he asked.

Kenshin looked up at the ancient Soul Reaper and tried to stand straight and keep his voice even but the man was both awe-inspiring and intimidating. He wondered what it would be like if the old man had been releasing his spiritual pressure. It would probably be powerful enough to kill him.

"K-Kenshin Hogasha, s-sir" he said nervously and bowed despite the pain between his legs.

"Well do not dwell on that boy's words. It is clear who the real winner of the fight was. I see great potential in you young Hogasha and I expect to see you amongst the ranks of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads in the future".

Kenshin gaped in amazement. The Head Capatin had actually acknowledged him and told him he had potential!

"T-thank you Head Captain Yamamoto" Kenshin said with a large grin.

Yamamoto returned his grin with one of his own and then turned to leave the classroom and inspect the students in some of the other classes. The sensei had dismissed the class and told them to keep practicing and gave them a few instructions and moves to ready for the next course of their training.

"Wow. Looks like the Head Captain likes you Kenshin" Rangiku said in amazement.

"If he came in a little earlier and saw your fights, I don't think his attention would be focused on me" Kenshin replied modestly.

"Don't sell yourself short" Gin said as he patted Kenshin's shoulder.

"How can he? He's short to begin with" Lisa said. She and Rangiku burst into laughter while Kenshin growled in annoyance.

"I'm not short!" he said with his cheeks red from embarrassment.

He was about to leave the classroom in a huff but right after taking his first step, the pain returned to his groin causing him to wince.

"Whoa, you okay" Gin asked as he came up beside him to offer some support if need be.

"I'm fine. I just need a minute".

"Our next class is about to start" Lisa reminded them.

"You guys go ahead. I'll catch up when it doesn't hurt as bad".

"Ya sure?" Gin asked.

Kenshin nodded.

"Alright. We'll tell the teacher why you'll be late" Rangiku said before leaving with Lisa and Gin.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It took Kenshin a good five minutes before he felt okay to move again. Luckily, the teacher had let him stay to recover.

After the pain had subsided, he left the classroom and headed to his next class. It was Kido if he recalled correctly.

He groaned at this. Kenshin was terrible with Kido. He could never manifest his spiritual energy the way he was supposed to in order to perform the spell. Gin, naturally, was very good with Kido. Rangiku wasn't great but she was definitely on her way. Lisa, being a fourth year student, naturally did very well in the class.

He walked a little slower; hoping that by the time he arrived, the class would be almost done.

As he walked down the hall he passed by a classroom that was empty save for one person. A woman was in the room. She appeared to be working with some potted plants. She had black hair that was tied up in front of her in a large braid. She was wearing the standard Soul Reaper attire and had her sleeves were rolled up; probably because she was working with plants.

Kenshin couldn't help but stare at her face. Her skin was pale in flawless and she seemed to glow with an aura of kindness that just looked so inviting. She was truly a thing of beauty.

Kenshin felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment but he just couldn't seem to look away at this beautiful woman.

She looked up from the plant she was potting with a look that appeared to be surprise. Then it a warm smile made its way onto her lips.

"It is very rude to stare you know" she said in a kind tone.

Kenshin snapped back to reality and his blush got redder from being caught.

"O-oh… I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'll just go" he said as he took a few steps back.

"Wait… since you're here, can help me with a few things" she asked sweetly.

"Uhmmm… I kind of supposed to be in class right now" he said nervously.

"Oh it's alright. I will tell your teacher you were helping me" she said reassuringly.

Kenshin found it very hard to say no to this woman. So he nodded and stepped into the classroom.

"What do you need me to do Miss…"?

"Oh, it's Unohana. And what I need you to do is help me arrange these plants for my Ikebana class".

"Ikebana"?

"It's the art of flower arrangement".

"There's a class here for flower arrangement? No offense but, what good is that to a Soul Reaper" he asked curiously.

Unohana chuckled lightly.

"It's more than just flower arrangement. Ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. One becomes more patient and tolerant of differences, not only in nature, but also in general. Ikebana can inspire to identify with beauty in all art forms. This is also the time when one feels closeness to nature which provides relaxation for the mind, body, and soul".

"All that from planting flowers?!" Kenshin asked in amazement.

Unohana nodded and got a small pot and a few plants and set them down on one of the desks.

"Here, you try".

"Uh… okay" Kenshin said as he sat down.

"So… what do I do"?

"Just arrange the flowers in anyway you feel. Whatever come to mind, you just do it".

Kenshin nodded and looked at the plants Unohana had laid out for him.

The first thing he picked up was a red poppy. He planted it in the pot he was given and put in a second one. Then he picked up white lily and planted it beside the poppies. His final touch was adding a white lotus blossom to the base of the two plants.

"Not bad for your first try" Unohana commented.

Kenshin smiled in appreciation. He had to admit that Ikebana was pretty relaxing and looking at his work filled him with a slight sense of pride and accomplishment.

"If you'd like, I could enroll you into my class" Unohana offered.

"Okay" Kenshin said.

He wanted to experience that relaxing feeling again and he also accepted because he enjoyed Unohana's presence. It felt so welcoming, caring even.

'_Guess there is a class here I can get excited about'_ he thought. Then it realization hit him.

"Oh damn, I forgot! I have to get to my Kido class!" he said out loud.

"Sorry Unohana- sensei, I really have to go" he said as he ran out of the room.

Unfortunately, Kenshin would never make it to class. Standing outside the room was his Kido instructor. He had a look of surprise on his face at first that quickly turned to anger. Kenshin only looked down at the floor and waited for his reprimand.

"Well, well… you don't show up for my class, miss half of it, and force me to go looking for you! Let me tell you right now, Mr. Hogasha, you will get no where with skipping class. I don't care how inept you are at Kido, that's no excuse for truancy. Do I make myself clear?" the instructor asked harshly.

"That's enough Akiwa" came the gentle voice of Unohana.

Kenshin saw that she came out of the room dressed differently. And to his complete and utter shock, she came out wearing a captain's haori over her Soul Reaper uniform.

"Captain Unohana?!" Akiwa said in surprise. He immediately bowed while Kenshin stood still, eyes wide in shock.

"Show some respect! Bow before the captain Hogasha!" Akiwa shouted.

"That won't be necessary Akiwa" Unohana said calmly. "Young Hogasha was helping me prepare for my class at my request. Isn't that right?" she asked Kenshin with a wink.

"Y-yes sir… I mean miss… I mean ma'am… I-I mean **Captain**!" Kenshin stammered and bowed, more so to hide his face in embarrassment.

He could hear Akiwa sighing and Unohana giggling.

"Surely you can overlook this boy's tardiness just this once Akiwa".

"O-of course Captain Unohana".

"Wonderful. I look forward to seeing you again Mr. Hogasha" she said with a kind smile before walking away.

Kenshin felt his cheeks heat up. This was becoming quite a day for him. Meeting the Head Captain and a captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads all in one day was a little overwhelming.

"Let's go boy. We still have twenty minutes of class left and you might as well learn something" Akiwa said with slight irritation as he turned and headed off back to his class.

"Yes Akiwa-sensei" Kenshin said as he followed his teacher.

**_________________________________________________________________________**

**First off~ this chapter was originally supposed to be much longer. But because I haven't posted anything in while,( I went on a vacation before I start school next week) I cut it in half just to let you know I'm not dead. If this chapter sucks I'm sorry. I'm not too good with writing fight sequences(I'll probably just get a friend of mine to do it for me since he's a natural) and as I said up-top I really didn't plan on writing this Academy Arc to begin with.**

**R&R please! Show me some love people.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well here's the other half of the last chapter. I've decided that the next chapter will be the last one for the academy because I seriously want to get this story started for real. Another piece of good new is that next chapter, everyone's getting their zanpaktous.**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"You mean you actually met Captain Unohana and didn't even realize it?!" Lisa asked incredulously as they left the classroom.

"How was I supposed to know? No one told me captains actually teach here," Kenshin said defensively.

"What was she like?" Rangiku asked curiously.

"Well… she was very nice. Her voice calm and soothing… she made me feel so safe and relaxed," Kenshin said with a small smile. "She was very beautiful," he said as he fondly recalled his meetingl Captain Unohana.

"You sound like you're in love Kenshin," Gin said with a smirk.

"I am not," Kenshin replied with a scowl.

"Oh, that's so cute. Kenshin has a crush on Captain Unohana," Rangiku said cheerfully.

"No I don't! I just think she's pretty and nice and kind and… pretty," Kenshin rambled as his cheeks started to turn red as his thoughts drifted to Unohana.

"Get your tongue off the floor shorty," Lisa said with a mischievous smirk.

"Stop calling me shorty," Kenshin growled.

"Don't get so mad Kenshin; they're only teasing ya," Gin said as he patted Kenshin's shoulder.

"Gin's right. Get mad and you'll never grow," Rangiku said with a laugh as she ruffled Kenshin's hair.

Kenshin only growled in response.

The group walked back to there rooms to drop of their books before going outside for lunch. They were thankful the academy fed the students. They were able to get their fill every day and they never had to steal again. Rangiku had been making Kenshin eat extra vegetables saying that it would help him grow. Kenshin hated vegetables. Even in the Rukon District he avoided vegetables. He never stole them for food and would rather starve for the day than eat them.

Arriving back to their rooms, Kenshin noticed something on his door. It was a note with a little heart painted on.

"What's that?" Gin asked over from over his shoulder.

"I don't know. It was just hanging there on the door."

"What?" Rangiku asked as she peered over Kenshin's other shoulder.

She gave a light gasp and a mischievous smile formed on her lips.

"Oh my, Kenshin has a secret admirer already?"

"C'mon, Kenshin, open it," Gin said eagerly.

Kenshin did so and read the few sentences on the piece of paper.

_Kenshin,_

_I've been watching you for a while now. For some reason I can't stop thinking about you! I have to see you. Please meet me in the woods at midnight tonight so we can talk._

_With love,_

_Your secret admirer_

"Wow, this girl seems pretty serious Kenshin," Rangiku said in amazement.

"But, who is it?" Kenshin wondered out loud.

He hadn't been at the academy long and he didn't make any new friends especially any that were female. Sure, there were a few girls in his classes he thought were attractive but he was certain they didn't really think too much of him. He really didn't know anyone.

'_Unless…' _he thought as his glanced at Lisa.

She noticed this and her face wrinkled in annoyance.

"Don't flatter yourself shorty," she snapped.

"I wasn't. For a second, I was worried," he mumbled.

The comment didn't go unheard and earned him a slap upside the head from bespectacled girl.

"You little brat! You should be thankful if you got to go out with someone like me!" she shouted.

"But you just said you wouldn't," Kenshin retorted.

"I… uh… I… t-that's not the point!" she stammered in embarrassment.

"Relax Lisa. It's probably not even a girl…" Rangiku said with a sly smile.

"Don't even joke like that!" Kenshin snapped.

"Either way Kenshin, ya still gonna check it out?" Gin asked.

"I guess. I'm a little curious about who this person is."

"Good. Now that that's settled let's get back to class," Gin said as he head off.

"Don't worry Kenshin, Lisa and I will be sure to stop by tonight to get you ready your date," Rangiku said with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"You will do no such thing," Kenshin said, slightly afraid.

"Oh, I'm really going to get a kick out of this," Lisa said with an evil smile.

"You two stay away from me! Gin help out here!"

"I'm staying out of this one."

"Some friend you are."

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

Kenshin arrived in the woods five minutes to midnight. He had snuck out of his room before Rangiku and Lisa could arrive to make good on their promise. He actually saw them coming down the hall with what he suspected was a make-up kit!

As he walked through the woods he tried to think of who could have possibly wrote that letter. Kenshin went down the list of every girl he had met so far since he arrived at the academy.

By the time he was finished, he had realized something: he had no idea where he was! It was pitch black in the woods with the tress blocking any light given off by the moon.

He looked hard through the trees before going deeper into the woods, and spotted a clearing that was perfectly illuminated by the moon. He carefully made his way to the clearing through the dark forest. Once Kenshin arrived in the clearing, he looked around but he saw no one. There was no way of telling time and wondered if he was early and should wait.

"Hello," he called out "anyone here?"

He started thinking that maybe he was too early when suddenly he felt a sharp pain on his back. He fell to his knees in pain. His back felt like it was on fire and he could feel his warm blood running down his back. He turned his head to see who had caused him this pain and his eyes widened in shock.

Gouzen Kazoku stood over him with a practice katana stained in Kenshin's blood.

"I think it's time for some payback, pauper," he said with a sneer.

"You humiliated me in front of the Head Captain and I have the menial task of cleaning up the entire academy. Now you have the attention of Captain Unohana too?! You're nothing but garbage from the Rukon District! You don't deserve to be noticed by them!" he shouted with rage as he kicked Kenshin onto his back.

Kenshin could feel the wound open up as his back hit the forest floor. The impact ground dirt into the wound, making the pain even worse. Kazoku looked down at him with disgust.

"Not feeling so high and mighty now are you?" the blonde noble asked with a smirk. "Don't tell me you came into these woods thinking you would meet a girl that was actually interested in trash like you," he said with a laugh.

Kenshin glared at Kazoku. The whole thing had been a trap and he walked right into it. He would have felt so ashamed if the pain wasn't so excruciating. He could not move off the ground.

He saw Kazoku raise the practice katan and then bring it down. Kenshin couldn't fight back his scream of pain as the blade pierced his hand.

"That's right, scream pauper," Kazoku said with and evil smile. "I'm going to be a captain someday and I can't have someone like you getting in the way of my future. So, pauper, this is where you die" he said as he held the blade high above Kenshin's head.

Kenshin closed his eyes and waited for his death. He thoughts wandered to Gin and Rangiku and he even managed to spare a thought for Lisa. He wished he could have graduated with them.

"NO!" The scream was female and Kenshin recognized it as Rangiku's voice.

His eyes snapped open to see Rangiku charging at Kazoku with a large branch.

"Rangiku, don't!" Kenshin shouted despite the pain.

He didn't doubt her ability to fight but Kazoku was using an actual weapon and was fully prepared to kill him. He was sure Kazoku was ready to get rid of Rangiku as well if need be.

Rangiku swung her makeshift weapon at Kazoku. He swung his practice katana, cutting the branch in half. Rangiku was now weaponless and jumped back and took up a fighting stance. She didn't care if she had a weapon or not. Her little brother was in danger and she was going to do whatever it took to protect him. Kazoku only laughed at her.

"You think this is wise, girl," he said as he walked towards her menacingly.

She responded by dashing towards him and sending a straight jab at his head. Kazoku dodged the punch then thrust his blade at Rangiku. She side-stepped the brunt of the attack but felt the blade cut through her uniform and graze her skin. She winced as she kept up her assault. Kazoku ducked under her roundhouse kick and sent a spin kick towards her abdomen, causing her to double over and gasp for air. He then back-handed her and sent her sprawling to the ground.

Kazoku smirked and walked towards her body and knelt down beside her.

"Looks like you lucked out pauper," he shouted over to Kenshin. "You get to live for just a bit longer. I'll kill your friend first… but I think I'll have some fun with her before I do," he said with a lecherous smile as he looked over Rangiku's body.

Her eyes widened in fear and she tried to push Kazoku away but he put his blade to her throat and she stopped her struggling.

"Don't you touch her" Kenshin shouted. He tried to get up but the pain kept him down.

He watched as Kazoku's handed moved along Rangiku's body, feeling her up.

He clenched his teeth in anger. His sister was being touched by someone who was going to kill them both and there was nothing he could do about it.

Kazoku began untying Rangiku's sash and she let out a scream.

'_No! I can't let him touch her. Come one, body! Move!' _he screamed in his head. He tried to focus all of his energy to his arms and legs but he still had trouble moving. He didn't notice it but his body was leaking spiritual pressure.

Kazoku stopped undressing Rangiku when he felt something in the air. It started small but then it grew thicker. He looked at Kenshin's body and saw an aura of spiritual energy form around it. It look his body was engulfed in white flames.

'_MOVE!' _Kenshin screamed in mind. Suddenly there was no pain and his body gained full mobility.

He stood and faced Kazoku, his eyes filled with hate.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" he shouted and then charged at Kazoku.

Kazoku snapped back to reality and turned to charged at Kenshin as well, with his practice katana raised in the air.

When he was close enough, Kazoku swung his blade down at Kenshin. Kenshin brought his hands up and caught the blade with both hands. Kazoku pushed down on the sword but it would not budge. He noticed Kenshin started bending the katana until the blade cracked in half. Kazoku back away in shock as Kenshin came at him. Kazoku glared at him and thrust his broken blade into Kenshin's stomach. He was surprised to see that Kenshin didn't faulter. Kenshin looked as though he hadn't even been stabbed and swung his fist into Kazoku's face, causing him to lose his grip on the blade and fall to the ground. Kenshin grabbed him by the collar and began continuously punching him in the face. He felt Kazoku's nose shatter after several hits and dropped him to ground when he was satisfied. Kazoku coughed up blood and even a few teeth before blacking out.

Kenshin felt his spiritual pressure dissipate and with it, his strength. His breathing became haggard and his vision went blurry from the blood loss caused by the wound on his back, hand, and the new one in his stomach where the other half of the blade remained.

"Don't... ever… touch my sister again," he said in between pants before he lost all feeling in his legs and fell to his knees. His vision started to fade. The last thing he saw before he hit the ground was Rangiku running towards him, calling out his name.

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

Kenshin's eyes cracked open. His blurry began to clear up. He looked around to see where he was. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a room he didn't recognize. He tried to sit up but a sharp pain in his back prevented him from doing so.

Since he wasn't going anywhere, he looked around the room again. He saw several beds lined around the room with white sheets. There were some people lying in a few of them. He noticed that they were Soul reapers.

"Oh good, you're awake," came a gentle voice.

Kenshin turned his head to see a very tall girl with silver hair walking toward his bed.

"My name is Isane Kotetsu."

"Where am I"?

"The Fourth Division hospital. You were brought here last night," she answered.

"Last night?" Kenshin asked confused. Then his eyes widened in realization.

"Rangiku!" he shouted as he jolted up but regretted when pain shot through his back and stomach.

"Ah! Please don't move too much. You'll open up you're wounds again," Isane said with worry as she gently tried to lay him back down.

Kenshin looked down at his body to see that his torso and hand were covered with bandages

The door at the other side of the room opened and Kenshin felt his heart do flips when he saw who came in. It was Captain Unohana.

"Good to see you are awake, Kenshin," she said with her usual heart warming voice.

"C-Captain Unohana?!" Kenshin could feel his cheeks heat up as she came closer to his bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked with genuine care.

"Uh… okay I guess."

"I'm glad to hear that," she said with a warm smile. Kenshin smiled back.

"Uhm… where's Rangiku?" he asked.

Unohana only smiled and looked towards the door.

"You can come in now," she called out.

Kenshin looked towards the doorway to see Rangiku, Gin, and Lisa. Rangiku ran at him and pulled him up into a hug.

"Kenshin, I was so worried about you. I though you were going to die," she said with tears streaming down her eyes.

"Rangiku, you're hurting me, badly" Kenshin said as he tried to break free of her hug.

"Oh! Sorry," she said, embarrassed and released him.

"Quite the scare ya gave us, Kenshin," Gin said.

"You were lucky Rangiku decided to follow you," Lisa added.

Kenshin looked at Rangiku and felt guilty when he remembered that she was hurt and nearly raped last night.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt?" he asked as he looked her over

She smiled and knelt down grabbing his good hand and squeezing it gently.

"I'm okay," she whispered in his ear.

"So, how much longer is he going to be here, Captain?" Lisa asked.

"I should be able to heal his wounds by the end of the day. You can come pick him up tonight."

"Thank you, Captain," Kenshin said after Rangiku had finally let go of him. "Wait, what about Kazuko?" Kenshin asked when he remembered the boy that was responsible for his condition.

"He is being treated in the prison," Unohana stated, her smile fading slightly. "Head Captain Yamamoto is quite upset with his actions".

Kenshin sighed in relief. He felt a little better knowing that the Head Captain knew about what had happened.

"I am sorry everyone but I must ask you to return to the academy. Do not worry about your friend. I will take care of him," Unohana said kindly.

They all nodded and said their goodbyes to Kenshin.

"Rangiku," Kenshin called out. His sister turned to look at him.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you again. As soon as I get out of here, I'll get stronger and then I'll be able to protect you," he said with conviction.

He remembered how he felt when he watched Kazuko molest her and he could do nothing about it. He never wanted to feel like that again.

Rangiku smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I know you will," she said before leaving the room.

Unohana placed her hand on Kenshin's forehead and smiled at him.

"Rest now Kenshin".

Capatain Unohana's presence made Kenshin feel safe and relaxed. The feeling of her hand against his forehead was enough to put him at complete ease. Soon he was asleep.

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**All thanks go to Whitecloud1 for beta-reading this chapter for me. I'm happy to have her helping me and I believe, with her help, this story will be much better.**

**Reviews please! Show me some love people.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Finally, the last chapter of the academy. After this the story should get much better.**

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**Two years later**

Kenshin awoke to the sun shining through his dorm room window. He sat up in his bed and looked around his room of which he was the sole occupant. So much had happened in the three years since he, Rangiku and Gin had enrolled in the Soul Reaper Academy.

Kazuko had been expelled for his heinous actions against Rangiku and Kenshin. Head Captain Yamamoto was furious he found out, coming incredibly close to ordering Kazuko's immediate execution. The Head Captain settled instead for expelling Kazuko from the academy, and banishing him from the Seireitei; thus ending Kazuko's ambition to become a captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

By the end of his first year, word of Gin's incredible skill in prowess had spread throughout the academy and reached the ears of the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. The teachers at the academy had acknowledged him as a genius in all fields and decided that he had no reason to attend the academy for another five years. Gin had graduated and was given the position of Fifth Seat of Squad Five.

While they were proud of their friend, Kenshin and Rangiku had to admit they were sad to see Gin go. Until that point, the three of them hadn't been apart since the day they all met. Kenshin knew that, between the two of them, Rangiku missed Gin the most. He noticed Rangiku was a bit less cheerful and carefree when Gin left. After Kenshin had assured her that they would see him again soon, she had returned to her upbeat self.

Kenshin got out of his bed and went into the bathroom to wash up.

His body had undergone some changes in the past three years. He had grown a couple of inches, which eased Rangiku's teasing about his height. His body was now well toned from all the intense training. Kenshin's vow to get stronger and protect Rangiku had driven him to work twice as hard in all his classes, especially his Zanjutsu and Hakudo classes.

He exited the shower, dried off and dressed in his academy uniform. Before leaving he added one more thing to his uniform… his zanpakutō.

After their first year, all the academy students were taken to a special room in the academy which they would only enter once. This room housed several zanpakutōs . The lieutenant of the Squad One, Chojiro Sasakibe, supervised them as the students searched for their zanpakutō. It wasn't a matter of choosing the weapon; rather it was a matter of _listening_ for the weapon. The students had to walk around the room until they found a zanpakutō that called out to them. Gin had gotten a wakizashi as his weapon, Rangiku had gotten a straight-bladed katana and Kenshin had gotten a kodachi, a blade made for defense he was told.

Kenshin picked up his books after placing his zanpakutō in his sash and left the room. He walked towards Rangiku's room and knocked on the door.

"Rangiku, you ready yet?" he asked through the door.

"One minute," came the reply.

Kenshin sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for his big sister. Surely enough, as she did everyday, she took five minutes longer than she said she would. Finally she came out with her cheerful smile.

"Did I keep you?" she asked innocently.

"Hardly," he muttered sarcastically. "What do you do in there that takes so long?"

His answer was a slap to the back of the head.

"Ow!" he shouted in irritation as he rubbed the spot on his head she had hit. "What the hell was that for?!"

"You don't ask a woman what she does when she gets ready in the morning! It's rude" she said as a matter-of-factly.

Kenshin eyed her with irritation.

"Whatever. Let's just get to class" he said and walked off with Rangiku following closely behind.

Lisa graduated the year before, leaving Rangiku without a roommate as well. Her grades and skill were at a level for her to be granted the position of Lieutenant of Squad Eight. While Kenshin was thankful that she wasn't there to tease him anymore, but he had to admit he missed Lisa. It may not have looked like it to an outsider, but he and Lisa became very good friends.

Kenshin and Rangiku made their way to a meditation class they had started taking their second year. The purpose of the class was to learn how to communicate with the spirit their zanpakutōs to better strengthen their relationships with their weapons.

Kenshin didn't care for this class much. It wasn't that he couldn't communicate with his zanpakutō, it was the conversations, or lack there of, he had with it. He could distinctly remember what his zanpakutō had said to him the first time he had met the spirit. It was the night of his first day of the second year and he had came back from his classes drained and ready for bed. He fell into a deep, dream filled- sleep.

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

_Kenshin opened his eyes. He was surprised to see that he wasn't in his bed or in his room, but lying on the ground. He quickly stood up to get his bearings. When he looked around he noticed that he wasn't in any place he recognized. He was standing in what appeared to be a castle fortress._

_The fortress was well fortified with guard towers, catapults, arbalests, and cannons at the top of its walls which were made of solid stone._

_Kenshin looked on with fascination when he suddenly felt a presence behind him. He turned around and stared with a mix of awe and fear as he stared at what stood before him._

_It was a man of great stature; possibly standing ten feet tall! His hair stopped at his shoulders but was spiked up in the back. His face was obscured by shadow but Kenshin could distinctly make out the two red eyes that gazed at him as if they were sizing him up. He wore a black armored chest plate that bore an image of what appeared to be a black sun in the center. He wore nothing beneath the armor on his torso. The muscular arms that protruded out of the armor seemed as if they were strong enough to crush stone. On his lower body was a black cloth that went down to his ankles, tattered at the bottom revealing armor plated boots._

_At first, Kenshin backed up a few steps from the very imposing figure, but when he saw that the figure made no move towards him, he relaxed a little. He took a deep breath and looked up into the eyes of the figure._

"_Who are you?" he asked curiously._

"_You know who I am," the figure said plainly with a deep voice._

"_I do?" Kenshin thought about it for a moment. Then he remembered what he had learned in his new class._

"_Are you the spirit of my_ _zanpakutō?" Kenshin asked growing excited._

_The spirit nodded._

_Kenshin felt so elated. His teacher had said it was possible for a person to take years to speak to their zanpakutōs spirit. But here Kenshin was standing right in front of it after only just one class._

"_Are you going to tell me your name?" Kenshin asked grinning eagerly._

"_No," the spirit said simply._

_All the joy that had built up in Kenshin faded in an instant and was replaced with disappointment._

"_Why not?"_

"_You are not worthy to use my power yet."_

"_Not…worthy?!" Kenshin repeated dejectedly. "When will I be?" he asked with hope._

"_Based upon what I am seeing right now… never," the spirit answered, narrowing its eyes slightly._

_Kenshin stared at the spirit with a look of hurt, shock, and confusion. He wasn't worthy of his sword and he never would be?!_

"_Then what can I do?" Kenshin asked desperately._

"_That is something you will have to figure out for yourself," the spirit said and then turned his back on Kenshin and started walking away._

"_W-wait!" Kenshin called out to it._

"_I have nothing more to say to you boy. Now be gone," the spirit said rather harshly without looking back at Kenshin._

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

Ever since that night, the dream weighed heavily on his mind. For the past two years he pushed himself to his limits and beyond in order to get his zanpakutōs approval. His efforts had put him in the top of his class in Zanjustu and Hakudo. But, every time he spoke to his zanpakutō, its answer was the same.

Kenshin often wondered why he came to this class at all. His zanpakutō clearly wanted nothing to do with him.

'_Then why did you call out me?'_ Kenshin thought in frustration as he glared at his zanpakutō which, he had placed beside him where he sat.

He once asked his teacher if it was possible that he picked up the wrong zanpakutō by mistake. His teacher said such an idea was preposterous. He explained to Kenshin how each zanpakutō is created for a specific person. The soul of the zanpakutō and the one who wields it were destined for each other.

After two years, Kenshin started losing hope. He thought he would never be able to access the power of his zanpakutō.

The teacher signaled the class to begin the meditation exercise. Kenshin sighed and began what he thought was another futile attempt at communicating with his zanpakutō. He closed his eyes and called out to the spirit of his zanpakutō.

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

Kenshin opened his eyes, and once again found himself in the familiar fortress. He looked around for the spirit but couldn't find him. This wasn't anything new. It had in fact, became a common thing. Since the spirit deemed Kenshin was not worthy he often wouldn't show up right away, or on occasion, not at all.

Kenshin walked around the fortress looking for the spirit. After a few minutes of aimless wandering, he felt a familiar presence behind him. He turned around and gave the spirit a scowl. Even though Kenshin could only see his eyes, he was pretty sure the spirit was scowling back.

"What are you doing back here?" the spirit asked with slight irritation.

"I have no choice but to be here. You know that," Kenshin replied with equal irritation.

"But why do you seek me out? My answer is not going to change," the spirit said narrowing his eyes.

"WHY?!TELL ME WHY!" Kenshin roared in frustration as he grabbed onto the spirit's armor and looked it dead in its red eyes. He had had enough of the spirit. It seemed that no matter how much stronger Kenshin got, it was never enough.

"Why won't you help me?" Kenshin said, barely audible. He let go of the spirit's armor and hung his head in defeat.

The spirit said nothing and the only sound that could be heard was the light wind the blew through the fortress. Finally after, several minutes of silence, Kenshin spoke up.

"Forget it," he said stoically. "This is pointless. If you truly don't want me here, then I won't come back… ever."

The spirit remained silent as Kenshin walked away from it. Soon both it's presence and the world around them started to fade. Then Kenshin left his inner world… intending never to return.

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

Kenshin and Rangiku had left the class when the teacher dismissed them. She told Kenshin about how her she was getting along with her zanpakutō despite it's laziness. When she saw that look of hopelessness on Kenshin's face however, she shut her mouth.

Kenshin's next class was his Ikebana class with Captain Unohana. Rangiku had a no class and had a free period until their Hakudo class. Kenshin offered to get her enrolled in their first year but she quickly declined saying she had no intention of getting her hands covered in dirt.

After parting ways with his big sister Kenshin headed for his Ikebana class. Usually it was a class he looked forward to since it was taught by Captain Unohana. Today however, after his last conversation with his zanpakutō, not even the thought of Captain Unohana's warm, kind smile could lift his spirits.

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

Retsu Unohana walked around the classroom inspecting the student's work. She would give compliments every now and then or offer helpful advice to the students. She finally got to the student who, in just a few classes had become one of her favorites; Kenshin.

Kenshin had become something of a star student. Each arrangement he turned in at the end of class was a work of art. She allowed him to take a few pots and plants with him after class to work on some during his free time.

But, today she noticed something was off about Kenshin. As he sat at his desk, she could tell he wasn't his usual self. He wasn't putting his usual amount of effort or care into his current project. She could see it in his eyes; Kenshin was definitely depressed about something.

She was concerned, as she had never seen Kenshin like this before. Captain Unohana decided that she would speak to him after class was over.

When it was time to go she dismissed the students but asked Kenshin if he could wait a moment. Waiting until everyone was gone, she spoke to him.

"Is everything well, Kenshin?"she asked with genuine concern.

"Not really," Kenshin answered in a sad tone.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"Oh, I don't want to bother you Captain" he said quickly.

"It's no bother at all. Come now, tell me what's wrong," she requested with that kind smile of hers that Kenshin just couldn't refuse.

He sighed. "It's… my zanpakutō." He touched the hilt of his sword

Unohana nodded, telling him to go on.

"The first night I got it I spoke to it. But it said it would never tell me its name because I wasn't worthy enough and never would be. Ever since then I've gotten stronger but the spirit still says I'm not worthy. I don't think it'll ever tell me its name," Kenshin said sadly.

Captain Unohana listened intently. It broke her heart to see one of her favorite students like this.

"I don't know what to do Captain," Kenshin continued. "How can I become a good Soul Reaper if my own weapon won't help me?" he asked, hoping the motherly captain of Squad Four would have an answer.

Unohana thought on it for a moment. Suddenly an idea came to her. Something that might help Kenshin gain a little more confidence and help to overcome his unfortunate handicap.

"Kenshin, what do you know of Squad Eleven?" she asked sweetly.

"Uh… only that it's the combat squad and it's Soul Reaper's rely on sheer power over all other fields".

"Do you know of its captain?"

Kenshin shook his head.

"The captain of Squad Eleven, Kenpachi Zaraki, is one of the strongest Soul Reapers in the Sereitei. His fighting skill is deadly and is nearly unrivaled. But do you want to know what so special about him?" she asked.

Kenshin shook his head.

"Even though he is a captain… he does not know the name of his zanpakutō. In fact I believe he has never communicated with it."

Kenshin's eyes widened in surprise. A captain that didn't know the name of his zanpakutō?! Captain Zaraki was one of the strongest Soul Reapers in the Seireitei?!

"But how is that possible?! Aren't all of the captains required to know bankai? That can only be achieved if you first know the name of your zanpakutō right?" he asked, eyes still wide as saucers.

Unohana smiled at how quickly his depression was forgotten and replaced by curiosity and a hint of hope in his eyes.

"Normally that would be the case. But Captain Zaraki achieved his position under different circumstances."

"Was the previous captain killed in battle?" Kenshin asked, curiously.

"Yes. Captain Zaraki challenged him to a duel… and killed him. He was given the position of Captain the next day."

It was all too much for Kenshin to take in. One of the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads killed the previous captain- without knowing the name of his zanpakutō or even speaking to it. At first he was confused but it slowly turned to relief then excitement. He felt a new found sense of determination. If Kenpachi Zaraki could accomplish all he did without any communication with his zanpakutō whatsoever, then so would he.

Unohana smiled as she watched the change in Kenshin's eyes.. Her smile widened when she saw his depression was replaced with determination.

"Thank you Captain Unohana." He bowed before walking towards the doorway. He turned, giving her one last smile, which she returned, and the hurried off to his next class with a smile still on his face.

He would do it. He would get stronger without his zanpakutō. He would no longer hoped to meet it's expectations. He would think nothing of it and still become a great Soul Reaper. He was so glad Captain Unohana had told him about Captain Zaraki.

'_Kenpachi Zaraki- One day I may be as strong as you are- or maybe even surpass you!'_

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**There you have it! The end of the academy arc. Now we'll get to see how Kenshin will fair as a member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. What squad will he be assigned to? How much stronger will he become? Will he truly never speak to his zanpakutō again? Keep reading and find out.**

**Reviews make me happy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note****- This chapter has been revised and rewritten.**

**Here we are again for chapter six. This chapter should answer the question that I'm sure has been on everyone's mind: "What squad will Kenshin be assigned to?"**

**I don't own Bleach. If I did my character would definitely be in it.**

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Kenshin stood in the center of the fighting circle. One of his classmates stood facing him a few feet away from him. Everyone else sat near the wall, waiting for the match to start.

Today was their last day of Zanjutsu training as well as their last day at the academy. Later in the afternoon, their marks would be sent to Head Captain Yamamoto, who would then call a Captain's meeting to assign each of the graduates to a Squad.

It was their last class and the teacher had permitted the use of zanpakutō in the sparring matches. This was where the students would show how far they had come in their six years at the academy.

"Are you both ready?" the teacher asked both students.

The two drew their zanpakutōs and got into their stances in response. Kenshin's opponent took a rather plain stance with his zanpakutō held in front of him with both hands. Kenshin held his zanpakutō at an angle in front of him with one hand; the other held open behind the point where the blade and hilt met. It was a defensive stance he had taken up two years ago after he gave up trying to learn his zanpakutō's name.

Since learning shikai was out of Kenshin's reach he had no choice but to find away to use his zanpakutō's unreleased state to his advantage. He realized since his was weapon of defense, trying to be offensive wouldn't be a good idea. He spent his last two years perfecting his defensive skills to the point where he was now considered one of the top five students in his Zanjutsu class.

"BEGIN!" the teacher shouted and the match began.

Both students tensed and stared each other down, trying to determine the other's strength and skill. The other student's observation clearly didn't take long because soon he was running towards Kenshin prepping for a downward strike. Kenshin held his ground and waited. When the strike was made the sound of metal filled the room. The student's zanpakutō was being held in place by Kenshin's. The student tried putting more pressure into his attack but Kenshin did not budge. Finally the student jumped back and came at Kenshin from the side. Kenshin's blade blocked the attack easily. Kenshin's opponent, frustrated, began a full on assault. It was a futile effort. No matter where the student struck each attack was blocked, deflected, or evaded by Kenshin.

The match went on for a few more minutes and his opponent was getting tired while Kenshin seemed not to have broken a sweat. The student decided to put in one final strike. He charged at Kenshin yet again and put all his power into a downward swing. Kenshin swung his zanpakutō from the left and knocked the blade away. The student's eyes went wide when he realized that he was left open for an attack. Kenshin then closed the distance between him and his opponent and jammed the butt of his zanpakutō into his stomach. The student doubled over, gasping for air. Kenshin followed by dropping down and performing a sweep kick and sent the student to the ground. Before he could get back up Kenshin was stood above him with his zanpakutō at his throat.

"Do you yield?"

The student scowled but nodded.

Kenshin smiled, offerring his hand to his defeated opponent to help him up. The student smiled back and accepted it. There was applause from the other students and teacher due to both the match and the show of good sportsmanship. Both students sheathed their zanpakutōs and bowed.

"Well done Hogasha," the teacher praised with a small smile on his face. "You have truly come far since your first day here."

"Thank you sensei," Kenshin said with bow.

"And well done to you Mizuki" he said to the defeated student. "Even though you lost the match, you have still shown your prowess here."

Mizuki thanked his teacher and bowed. Then both he and Kenshin took their seats with the other students. The teacher faced them all and looked at them with proud eyes.

"Students you have all shown great dedication and skill in these last six years. I'm proud to have been your sensei and wish you all good luck. Tomorrow, you begin your first day as an official Soul Reaper of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads! Dismissed."

The students cheered and rushed out of the room to enjoy the rest of their last day.

Kenshin met Rangiku in the hall way and the two embraced each other with happy smiles and laughs. They had finally done it. After six years they had finally become Soul Reapers. They walked towards the grounds to relax with their arms around each other's shoulders.

"You excited?" Rangiku asked with a grin on her face.

"Do you really need to ask?" Kenshin responded with a grin on his face as well.

The two laughed as they made it out to the grounds.

"Which squad did you apply to?" Kenshin asked as they sat on one of the benches scattered throughout the grounds.

"I couldn't really decide so, I just applied for Squad Ten," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders. "I just hope they don't make me do a lot of work."

Kenshin sighed. It seemed his big sister's laziness wouldn't be swayed by the new Soul Reaper responsibilities.

"What about you?" she asked.

Kenshin shrugged his shoulders. At first he didn't know which squad he wanted to join. He couldn't join Captain Unohana's squad since the Fourth Squad would require him to excel in Kido. Unfortunately, Kenshin's Kido skills were poor but passable. He just didn't have a knack for it. He was only able to perform the most basic of spells and even they weren't up to the standards of the average Soul Reaper.

He didn't know much about the squads but one came to mind.

"I applied for Squad Eleven," he finally answered.

"Squad Eleven?!" Rangiku asked with surprise. "Why?"

"It sounds interesting, plus I want to meet it's captain," Keshin stated as he remembered what Captain Unohana had told him about the infamous Kenpachi Zaraki.

"In any case, we'll just have to wait for tomorrow," he said as he leaned back against the bench and stared into the afternoon sky. Sleep would be hard tonight with the excitement and anticipation of the squad assignment.

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Later that day, Head Captain Yamamoto had called a captains meeting. The captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads filed into the meeting room forming two lines before the Head Captain.

Captains Yoruichi Shihoin of Squad Two, Rojuro Otoribashi of Squad Three, Restu Unohana of Squad Four, Shinji Hirako of Squad Five, Ginrei Kuchiki of Squad Six, Love Akiwa of Squad Seven, Shunsui Kyoraku of Squad Eight, Kensei Muguruma of Squad Nine, Shitsumei Hito of Squad Ten, Kenpachi Zaraki of Squad Eleven, Kisuke Urahara of Squad Twelve, and Jushiro Ukitake of Squad Thirteen were now standing at attention. Head Captain Yamamoto tapped his can on the floor.

"The determination of the academy graduates placement will now commence."

"Are there any students that stand out amongst the usual lot?" Captain Ginrei Kuchiki asked. The proud yet cold head of the Kuchiki Clan was a hard man to please. He rarely gave any graduates acknowledgment, let alone seated positions for his squad unless there was something truly special about them. If they did not appear to be worthy in his eyes then he did not care where they stood in his squad.

"You will just have to find out for yourself Captain Kuchiki," answered Commander Yamamoto. "Lieutenant Sasakibe, will you hand me the list of this year's graduates?"

"Yes sir," answered the Lieutenant as he handed his Captain a piece of parchment with the names of the academy graduates and their marks written on it.

Commander Yamamoto nodded as he accepted the list and turned back to the Captains.

"Let us begin".

For the next hour Head Captain Yamamoto read out the names on the list and told the captains which squads the graduates had applied. So far, the captains had gladly accepted the students that requested to join their squads. The only captains that had barely said a word throughout the meeting were Ginrei Kuchiki who had no interest for any of the new graduates, and Kenpachi Zaraki who was just bored.

None of the graduates interested Kenpachi, as not a one sounded strong or interesting enough to fight. He stared off into space, nodding his head for the couple of times Head Captain Yamamoto told him the names of students that wanted to be in his squad and waited for the meeting to end so he could return to his squad headquarters to resume his nap.

Finally, the First Squad Leader came to the last two names on the list.

"Rangiku Matsumoto, is one of top students that have graduated. According to her marks she is quite adept in the arts of Zanjutsu and Hoho. She seems to possess a great knowledge of Kido and has mastered quite a few spells. Her teachers have also stated she has an impressive level of intelligence. Few have even stated she may be near Lieutenant level."

"Ah, my Lieutenant had told me about this one," Kyoraku said, tipping his straw hat upwards. "They seemed to be good friends. I've been told she has a lot of potential… and is quite a beauty."

"Compose yourself, Captain Kyoraku" Ginrei said growing slightly annoyed.

"Oh, don't be such a wet blanket, Ginrei," Kyoraku said in his usual light and carefree tone.

"Refrain from addressing me so informally," the elder Kuchiki replied coolly.

"You might as well just get over it Ginrei," Urahara said with a light smile on his face. "Besides, any man could appreciate a beautiful woman," he added, glancing toward the far end of his line at a certain leader of the Punishment Force. At the far end of the line Yoruichi snickered and rolled her eyes.

"That is enough," the Head Captain stated calmly but with authority, ending the captains' banter.

"I will take her," came the voice of Captain Shitsumei Hito. He then began a coughing fit.

Captain Shitsumei Hito had been ill for quite a while now. The Fourth Division stated that cause was that his body was just old and weak. He had been with the Thirteen Court Guard Squads for a long time, though not as long as Jushiro and Shunsui, and had seen many battles. He was once considered one of the strongest captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads along with the Head Captain's former pupils some time ago. Now the valiant captain of the Seireitei was nothing but a dying old man that suffered fits of violent blood-spouting coughs and blemishes on his sickly, shriveled skin, waiting for his last day to come.

"Captain Hito…" Head Captain Yamamoto waited for the old captain to get control of his coughing.

"This illness will claim me very soon," Captain Hito said in between coughs. "My time as Captain of Squad Ten is over. My last act as captain will be to ensure the stability and foundation of my squad with competent and skilled Soul Reapers until a suitable Captain is found," he stated, fighting back coughs until he could no longer and began coughing violently.

"Captain Unohana, please escort Captain Hito to the Fourth Division hospital," Head Captain Yamamoto ordered. She nodded and assisted the ailing Tenth Squad Captain out of the room.

"Shall we wait for her return?" Ukitake asked.

"There is no need. It is my understanding that Captain Unohana knows this next student personally and he does not meet the qualifications to join her squad" Head Captain Yamamoto stated as he looked at the last name on the list.

"Kenshin Hogasha," he read out. "Another one of the top students. He has proven himself to be very adept in the arts of Zanjutsu and Hakudo. His skill in Hoho is average and he appears to have no talent for Kido. Another fact that should be known is that during his fourth year, he ceased communication with his zanpakutō completely."

This came as quite a surprise to most of the captains. The one who found himself most surprised was Kenpachi Zaraki. He had believed he was the only Soul Reaper that chose not to speak to his zanpakutō. Kenpachi did not consider his weapon as a powerful, sentient entity, only as a tool of war. The idea that someone possibly thought the same as him intrigued him.

"Is he strong?" he finally asked. Head Captain Yamamoto looked towards the Captain of Squad Eleven and nodded.

"Both his Zanjutsu and Hakudo instructors have noted that his defensive skills far exceed any other of the graduates. In his last two years of the academy, during each of his sparring matches, regardless of his opponent, no one was able to land a blow on him."

This left most of the captains impressed, especially Kenpachi. The thought of fighting someone with an unbreakable guard both fascinated and excited him. He allowed a small grin to form on his face.

"I want him in my squad," he spoke quickly. If this boy were in his squad, there would be more opportunities to fight him. Of course, Kenpachi knew that he was just a graduate and still had quite a ways to go, but just the thought of someone like that getting stronger only excited him more.

The other captains suddenly felt very sorry for this boy. They knew that if Kenpachi wanted him in his squad, it was only because the "beast of the Soul Society" wanted to fight him.

"Very well, Captain Zaraki," Head Captain Yamamoto said as he handed the list back to his Lieutenant. "This Captains' meeting is adjourned," he stated with a tap of his cane against the floor.

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**See ya next time**

**R&R please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey I'm back! Sorry it took so long. My muse and I weren't speaking to each other, but we made up and are ready for more. And a late Happy Halloween, I suppose. Honestly, I think it was the five pounds worth of sugar I consumed that kept me up at nights to write this chapter, LOL!**

**As usual, Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo. Only Kenshin belongs to me.**

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When Kenshin awoke that morning, there were no words to describe the immediate excitement he felt. Today was finally the day he would join the ranks of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

There was a knock at the door. As he got out of bed to answer it, he wondered who would be knocking on his door that early. When he opened it he saw that it was one of the attendants of the academy holding a package with a note attached to it. He thanked the attendant and went back into his room. He opened the note.

_Dear Academy Graduate,_

_Congratulations on having graduated the Soul Reaper Academy._

_Inside this package you will find your very own Soul Reaper uniform. Don this uniform with pride and please gather in front of the academy with your fellow graduates at ten o'clock sharp for squad assignment._

_Welcome to the ranks of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads._

_Sincerely, Head Captain Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto_

Kenshin set the letter aside and eagerly opened the box. As he stared at his very own Soul Reaper robes, his eyes filled up with pride.

After he finished his morning ablutions, Kenshin stood before the mirror, dressed in the black standard Shinigami Shihakusho. He found it a little strange that it was only yesterday that he was looking in the same mirror and saw himself in his academy robes. He placed his zanpakutō in his sash and headed for the door. Before he walked out, he turned and looked at the room that had been his home for the last six years. He felt a wave of nostalgia come over him as he gazed over his room for the last time. Then he left.

He walked towards Rangiku's door and knocked.

"Rangiku, you ready?" he asked through the door. Though he was pretty sure what the answer would be.

"Just a minute," came the reply.

'_More like ten' _he thought sardonically. Twenty minutes later, his big sister finally came out of her room. Kenshin looked on with a grimace at how she had chosen to wear her uniform. Her robes were loose at her breasts, most likely on purpose given that it was Rangiku.

"Is there any particular reason why you're wearing your uniform like that?"

"Why, what's wrong with it?" she asked innocently as she looked herself over.

"Never mind," Kenshin said with a groan. "What happened to the days when you use to be the first one ready?"

"As a woman gets older, her body requires much more preparation in the mornings in order for her to be beautiful," Rangiku stated in a matter-of–fact tone.

"Then you clearly need more preparation," Kenshin mumbled with a small smirk on his face. The smirk fell when he felt a hand impact with the back of his head. He groaned in pain and rubbed the spot that had taken much abuse from his sister over the years.

"You never learn do you?" Rangiku said slightly annoyed.

"No I don't because every time you hit me, it causes me to forget not to do it," Kenshin stated irately.

"Well I wouldn't have to hit you if you would learn to keep your comments to yourself," she snapped back.

"I would keep them to myself if _you_ would just grow up! I swear sometimes I feel like the older sibling."

"If only you weren't short," Rangiku said with a mischievous smile before taking off running and giggling.

"STOP CALLING ME SHORT!" he roared as he chased after her. "GET BACK HERE RANGIKU!"

The two ran about the halls of the academy until they finally made it outside. There they found the rest of the academy graduates standing about, chatting excitedly with what was to come next

Then Kenshin noticed several ranked Soul Reapers from each division, entered the courtyard of the academy. The division soul reapers lined up, in order, awaiting the new graduates assigned to their squads. The Dean of the academy called the students to order. She began reading the name of the graduates, in order of the division they were assigned.

"Rangiku Matsumoto. You have been assigned to Squad Ten. Please see that Soul Reaper over there," the teacher said pointing to an officer of Squad Ten.

"Kenshin Hogasha. You have been assigned to Squad Eleven. Please see those two Soul Reapers over there," the teacher said, this time pointing to the Soul Reapers of Squad Eleven.

Kenshin's excitement grew exponentially when he heard those words. He thought back to what Captain Unohana had told him about Squad Eleven and it's captain, Kenpachi Zaraki. The thought of meeting man that had been his encouragement to get stronger without the help of his zanpakutō pleased him greatly

"I can't believe that you actually got assigned to Squad Eleven," Rangiku said in disbelief. She had heard rumors about that squad and was a little scared for her brother. She heard how the captain was a bloodthirsty animal and how all the other members of the squad thought of battle and nothing else.

Kenshin felt her agitation. He placed his hand on her shoulder, and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm sure I'll be fine Rangiku. This is what we trained for after all," he said reassuringly.

Rangiku was skeptical but smiled none the less and gave her brother a hug.

"Just be careful," she said tenderly.

"I will. You take of yourself. I'll see you soon," he said as he returned her hug.

Rangiku gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before letting go and heading to the Squad Ten officer.

Kenshin took a deep breath and walked towards the two Soul Reapers from Squad Eleven.

As he got closer, he took some time to look them over. One was bald with red marks at the corners of both his eyes. His zanpakutō jauntily held across his shoulder He wore a grin that gave him the look that made him appear he was ready for a good fight.

The one to his left appeared to be a stark contrast to the man beside him. This Soul Reaper wore the standard issue uniform with added accessories. An orange deep collar rose into a mock necksat on top of his uniform. The same color material connected to an orange sleeve on his right arm under the much looser fitting sleeve of the uniform. Thin yellow feathers came out of the corner of his right eye; red thin feathers stood out from his right brow and had shiny, jaw-length hair. To Kenshin, he seemed a little too feminine to be a member of the infamous Squad Eleven.

The two seemed to take notice of Kenshin, who now stood in front of them.

"You the kid that got assigned to our squad?" the bald one asked.

"Yes," Kenshin said with a nod. "My name is Kenshin Hogasha."

"Hmm… you don't look like much," the bald one said as he looked Kenshin over. "But if our captain accepted you, you must be something special. I'm Third Seat, Ikkaku Madarame".

"And I am Fifth Seat, Yumichika Ayesagawa," the other man said in rather pride-filled tone.

"Nice to meet the both of you."

"Likewise. Let's go, the captain's waiting," Ikkaku said as he turned and started walking away, followed by Yumichika and Kenshin.

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"You honestly do not speak to your zanpakutō?" Yumichika asked as the three of them headed towards the Squad Eleven barracks. Ikkaku leaded the way.

"Nope. It doesn't think I'm worthy enough to speak to so I gave up trying," Kenshin stated.

"So you rely on your own power rather than your zanpakutō, huh? I can respect that," Ikkaku said from the front.

"Let's just hope your own power is enough for the captain. If he let you join his squad, it's because he wants to fight you," Yumichika warned.

"Me?" Kenshin asked confused. Captain Unohana did mention something about Captain Zaraki being battle hungry, but he didn't think he would have to fight a captain on his first day as a Soul Reaper.

"Don't worry, he won't kill you," Ikkaku said reassuringly, then with a sly smirk he said "or at least he'll _try_ not to".

Kenshin paled a little after hearing that.

"Ikkaku, you're scaring him," Yumichika chided.

"Real men don't get scared" Ikkaku snapped.

"I'm not scared!" Kenshin said defensively, even though he did feel a little fear.

"Good, because it's not just the captain, I want to see what you're made of too!" Ikkaku stated excitedly as he got within inches of Kenshin's face with a rather scary look on his. Then he continued on ahead.

"You'll get used to it," Yumichika said with a sigh. "Just like our captain, he loves a good fight."

"He said he was the Third Seat. Just how strong is he?" Kenshin asked.

"Well, as the Third Seat, Ikkaku is the third strongest fighter in our squad. However, his skill is definitely at a high lieutenant level."

"Then how strong is the Lieutenant?"

"I think its best if you find that out on your own," Yumichika said with an amused look on his face.

Kenshin definitely felt intimidated. Based on what Yumichika ha told him, Ikkaku was centuries beyond Kenshin's skill level. He didn't say much about the lieutenant, which made him more nervous. Then there was Captain Zaraki. Ikkaku has said that the captain wanted to fight Kenshin. If Kenshin didn't stand a chance against Ikkaku, what chance did he have against the captain? And what about Yumichika?

"Um… no offense, but you said you were the Fifth Seat. Why didn't the Fourth Seat come with Ikkaku or the Lieutenant?"

"Our Lieutenant can't really be trusted with this kind of task and as for our Fourth Seat, we currently don't have one," Yumichika explained.

"But then wouldn't you become the Fourth Seat?"

"Oh, heavens no! I couldn't possibly be the Fourth Seat."

"Why not?"

"Because the Fourth Seat insignia is hideous!" Yumichika said with a disgusted look on his face.

This information left Kenshin at a loss for words. He had never heard of such an absurd reason for not taking a seated position. When Kenshin first met Yumichika, it crossed his mind that he seemed a little like a man who was concerned with his appearance rather than combat. Now, he realized he was correct.

Not really wanting to start up another conversation with this strange Soul Reaper, Kenshin and Yumichika walked the rest of the way in silence

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

When Kenshin entered the barracks of Squad Eleven, it finally seemed to set in that he was a Soul Reaper. There would be no more classes, no more learning, and he was no longer protected from the dangers outside the academy walls. He would have to slay hollows more than any other squad since he was a part of the combat division and, despite the fact that he was capable of performing konso, he most likely wouldn't have to.

Yumichika led Kenshin into a large room in the main building. There were several officers of the division standing around talking amongst themselves. They had the appearance of men that were all brawn and no brains. He stuck by Yumichika an Ikkaku since he felt a little safer around them.

"Where's the captain?" he asked.

"He should be here any second. He told us to bring you here as quickly as possible," Yumichika stated. As if on cue, the doors burst open and in came the man Kenshin had been curious to meet for years.

Captain Unohana was rather vague on the appearance of Captain Zaraki so it surprised Kenshin little that he was instantly put into a state of awe and fear.

She had said he was powerful, but that description was an understatement. He was powerful and intimidating. The Eleventh Division Captain's tall muscular frame dwarfed Kenshin's smaller frame. Kenpachi Zaraki wore a wild, nearly feral expression, and is hair was spiked with small bells at its tips. The eye patch on his right eye was balanced by a huge scar on the left side of his face. The captain's haori was ripped and torn, further evidence of the battle hungry warrior god that stood before him.

"Where is he?" he demanded of the Third and Fifth Seat.

"Right here, Captain," Ikkaku said, moving aside to let Kenpachi see Kenshin. Kenpachi, however was a loss.

"I don't see him," he said looking past Ikkaku. This irked Kenshin somewhat. Then he noticed a pink ball pop onto Kenpachi's shoulder. Upon closer inspection, Kenshin realized it was a little girl.

"Hey, Kenny, maybe it's the little guy next to Baldy," the girl said.

"I'm not little," growled Kenshin.

"Who says I'm bald?" Ikkaka asked, a vein twitching above his eye. Kenpachi looked for the source of the first voice but still seemed to be unable to find it.

"Um… down here sir," Kenshin said, causing Kenpachi to look down at him.

"Who let you in here kid?" he asked clearly annoyed.

"Uh… I'm Kenshin Hogasha, the new recruit. It's an honor to be here Captain," he said with a bow.

"You're the guy?!" Kenpachi asked, clearly shocked.

"Y-yes sir," Kenshin said slightly worried. Kenpachi gave a disappointed sigh and ran his hand down his face.

"This is definitely not what I was expecting."

"Sir?" Kenshin asked still confused.

"Oh well. I guess we'll just have to see what you can do. Everyone form a circle around the new kid."

It was then that Kenshin noticed the room full of seated officers

Kenshin was amazed that the fighting would commence within minutes of his arrival. All the officers in the room gathered around him and pulled out their zanpakutōs. Kenpachi pointed to one of the officers and told him to get in the ring with Kenshin. The man, Makizo Aramaki looked a little too inebriated to fight, as if he had been drinking for several hours, but he still smiled smugly at Kenshin, obviously believing that it would be an easy victory. He seemed so confident, that a few seconds after entering the ring, he charged at Kenshin.

Kenshin stood stone still as Makizo came running towards him. When he was within three feet of him, Kenshin grasped his zanpakutō, pulled it out if it's sheath and raised it in an upward ark. The butt of the hilt hit directly under Makizo's chin and sent him into the air, where he flipped backwards before landing on his stomach with a thud. The blow mixed with his intoxication clearly left Makizo defeated.

Kenpachi allowed a small grin to form on his lips.

"Not bad kid, but I want to see more of this unbreakable defense of yours," he said before sending two men into the ring with Kenshin.

The newest opponents came at him from the front and the rear. The one behind Kenshin performed a slash aimed his midsection while the one in front of him prepped for an overhead strike. Kenshin blocked the attack from behind with his zanpakutō and then performed a round house kick on the man in front of him, sending him spinning towards the ground. Keeping up the momentum, he preformed a spin kick and hit the other man square in the cheek, sending him to the ground as well.

Kenpachi's grin widened and he sent three more in to fight Kenshin. The results were the same. Kenshin managed to defeat his opponents with his guard still unbroken. At this point Kenpachi was getting excited and sent half the men still standing at Kenshin!

Thanks to all of the training and conditioning he went through at the academy, Kenshin was able to fight and keep fighting for long periods of time. However, despite all his training, he was still fresh out of the academy and he was fighting members of a division that specialized in combat. Needless to say, by the time Kenshin managed to defeat all of his opponents, he was nearly worn out. He wasn't able to get away without any bruises either. There were times when he would have to use his arms or legs to defend in place of his zanpakutō and each time a new bruise or blemish would form from the powerful hits from his opponents.

He stood in the ring, panting and with almost no energy left. The ones who lost to him were certainly sore that they lost to a new academy graduate but they respected him all the same. Yumichika eyed him with interest. He usually only sparred with Ikkaku, seeing as he was the only other member of the squad that could push him, but he saw potential in Kenshin. Ikkaku was definitely excited. It was rare that he got to fight opponents that could possibly make him go all out. Fighting Kenshin would certainly be an enjoyable experience for him. Kenpachi's grin was at it's maximum length. After watching Kenshin fight, any doubts he had went out the window.

'_He may be just a kid, but he's definitely got skill. Maybe this'll be fun after all,'_ he thought.

"Alright, you punk, now let's see how you fair against a much tougher opponent," Ikkaku said stepping forward.

Kenshin wanted to show his captain that he was worth keeping, but he couldn't deny the fact that he was tired and if Ikkaku was as good as Yumichika had earlier stated, than he wouldn't stand a chance his condition. Still he forced his body into his stance and prepared himself for another fight.

"I can see that you're tired, but you're still ready to fight. That's good, I can respect that. A real man never backs down from a challenge," Ikkaku stated as he unsheathed his zanpakutō and held it in a stance that Kenshin wasn't too familiar with.

Ikkaku held his zanpakutō with his left hand and his sheath with his right. No one in the academy had taught him to use both sword and sheath at the same time and Kenshin never considered it. He was at a loss with how to fight against such a style that seemed to have a perfect balance of offense and defense. He wasn't able to think about it because Ikkaku came running at him full force.

He made a strike aimed at Kenshin's midsection, which Kenshin was able to block. Ikkaku thrust his sheath forward at Kenshin's torso. Kenshin turned to the side and just barely managed to avoid the attack. The Third Seat was definitely much faster, his strength greater than all of the previous opponents he had battled. Had the sheath connected, it would have seriously injured Kenshin.

Ikkaku didn't let up. He continued to release the furious attack upon the newest recruit. Kenshin was using all that he had left just to defend himself. Ikkaku seemed to be enjoying the fight and the challenge of finding an opening in Kenshin's defense.

Ikkaku then did something that Kenshin had never seen: he switched his sword and sheath into different hands. This didn't seem to impair his fighting ability because Ikkaku came at Kenshin with just as much fervor as before.

Once again, the seated officer's sword came in a downward arc on the new recruit,who used his zanpakutō to block. Ikkaku then thrust his sheath towards Kenshin's stomach as he did in the previous attack. Kenshin grasped the sheath before it made contact with him. Ikkaku's grin grew wider and he used the sheath to pull Kenshin forward, then slammed his foot into Kenshin's midsection, sending him flying back and effectively knocking the wind out of him.

For a while Kenshin debated on getting up. His body was sore and he could feel that he had nothing left. After a while he decided it would be better if he stood up and face his opponent rather than accept defeat so easily. With a bit of a struggle, he got to his feet and resumed his stance.

"That's right. Real men endure pain and keep on fighting," Ikkaku said with excitement and then came at Kenshin again.

"That's enough Ikkaku," Kenpachi said, causing the Third Seat to stop in his tracks. "If you break him, then there will be nothing left for me. Let him rest for the day and then tomorrow, him and me will go at it," he said, excitement and anticipation evident in his voice.

Ikkaku seemed reluctant to end his fight, after having such a good time, but obeyed his captain nonetheless.

After Kenshin was commended by Ikkaku and the rest of the division for his skill, he was helped to his new room after finding it difficult to move his legs. He didn't bother stopping to check his room, he just fell onto his bed and tried to ignore the soreness he felt in every part of his body. Life in Squad Eleven was much harder than he thought it would be and it was only his first day! As he dropped into an exhausted oblivion, he knew rougher times were ahead.

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**And there you have it, chapter seven Guardian Spirit. This marks as the longest story I've posted on this sight so far. Hopefully it will not be the last.**

**In celebration of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I will begin working on another Bleach story. I'll try and get the next chapter for this story at soon as possible, but for now I'll be starting my new story.**

**Thanks for reading. Reviews are love people! Show me some.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone! Sorry I took so long. I haven't gotten much of anything done during my vacation. I think there's something wrong with me. I've been sleeping til four in the afternoon! Anyway, in this chapter, Kenshin meets Yachiru!**

**DISCLAIMER~ I don't own anything related to Bleach unfortunately, not even a poster. I'd buy a key chain at least if I wasn't broke!**

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Kenshin was used to feeling sore in the morning. Between harsh living in the Rukon District and intense training at the Academy, pain of fighting became a natural feeling for him. However, the amount of pain he was in was much greater than what he usually experienced. Yesterday's fights, particularly his fight with Ikkaku, left him so sore he found himself unable to move. He was lying on his back and the slightest twitch of a finger or shifting of a leg caused him to groan. He would have opened his eyes, but he was worried that might have caused even more discomfort.

He felt a heaviness on his chest. Every time he took a breath he felt like he was lifting a small boulder. Reluctantly, he lifted his arm, slowly, up to his chest to try and rub the pain away. Instead of his chest, however, he felt something else, something soft. He heard a noise that sound like a little girls laughter and creaked his eyes open. Both eyes widened when he saw what was causing his chest to feel weighted down.

Sitting on his chest was a little girl that looked to be no more than four or five years old. Her hair was pink and her cheeks were rosy. He noticed that she was wearing a Soul Reaper shihakushō. It was then that Kenshin realized that she was the little girl he saw sitting on his captain's shoulder yesterday. She stared at him with a grin on her face.

"Good morning!" she all but shouted, causing pain to Kenshin's ears, which, unbelievably, were sore as well. "I thought you'd never wake up!"

"Uh… can I help you little girl?" Kenshin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm… nope," she said cheerily and hopped off his chest, causing him to groan in discomfort. With a bit of effort he managed to sit up, trying to ignore the popping noises his bones were making with every move.

"What are you doing in the Squad Eleven barracks? It's dangerous for y-" he was unable to finish his sentence when he saw a lieutenants badge on her left arm. "How did you get that?! Who are you?"

"I'm Yachiru Kusajishi, Lieutenant of the Eleventh Squad," she stated, raising her two index fingers to form an eleven. Kenshin's face showed the extent of his shock.

"You're the Lieutenant?!" he practically shouted. He thought back to what Yumichika told him yesterday about the squad's lieutenant. This was honestly the last thing he had expected. This girl was superior to Ikkaku?! The man who pushed him to his breaking point yesterday was outranked by this little girl?!

'_Just how strong is she?'_ he thought to himself.

"Uh… w-what are you doing in my room anyway?" he asked trying to hide the fear he felt. He worried that this girl might have wanted to fight him to. If he couldn't beat Ikkaku, he surely couldn't beat this girl. She was obviously made Lieutenant for a reason.

"I want to play!" she said cheerily. Kenshin raised a brow in response.

"Uh… It's not that I don't want to play; I'm just in a lot of pain. I'll play with you later alright," he said, lying back down.

"Aww, that's no fun!" she whined. "Come on, play with me!" she whined so more while shaking him with her tiny hands.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just too sore to play right now," he said, growing annoyed.

"Hmph!" Then he heard her footsteps and was hoping she would leave.

"Then I'll just have to make you play," he heard her declare. He turned his head to see what she was going on about and his eyes widened to see her holding his zanpakutō.

"What are you doing with that? Give it to me," he ordered.

"You'll have to catch me first! If you do that I'll give it back to you!" she stated before running out of the room and down the hall.

"Hey wait!" Kenshin shouted. He sat up and regretted it immediately as the pain shot through his aching body. Kenshin wasn't in any condition to be moving around, but he had to get his zanpakutō back. His pride was at stake. How would he look to the entire division if he couldn't reclaim his zanpakutō from a wisp of a girl? Deciding he'd rather not find out, he fought through the pain, stood up and ran after her.

He found her standing at the end of the hall, his zanpakutō in her hand and a childish grin on her face.

"Come on! You'll never catch me if you move like a turtle!" she said, with a giggle before running down another hall. Kenshin growled and chased after her, fighting back tears as his feet hit the floor.

Yachiru seemed to be having the time of her life. She was running through the halls of the Eleventh, giggling like mad while Kenshin chased after her, his face set into a scowl.

"Get back here Lieutenant!" he shouted at her retreating back. This was ridiculous. Lieutenants were supposed to behave in a sensible manner weren't they?

"My name's Yachiru!" she shouted back with a giggle. She ran out of the hallway and into the courtyard right past Ikkaku and Yumichika. "Hurry up!" she called out as she continued running. By the time Kenshin ran into Ikkaku and Yumichika, he was already winded and ready to drop, but he had to keep going.

"I see you met our lieutenant," Ikkaku said with a smirk.

"Quite the lively one isn't she?" Yumichika said with a hint of mischief.

Kenshin looked up to him, his face showing he didn't care for the joke. He growled and continued chasing after Yachiru who jumped over the wall of the courtyard and out of the barracks. Kenshin followed after her, shouting curses and threats.

Ikkaku and Yumichika looked at each other, sporting a pair of sly grins.

"It never gets old to watch Yachiru "break in" the new recruits," Ikkaku stated.

"When do you think they'll be back?" Yumichika asked.

"Hmmm… I'd say around sunset. No ones ever been able to keep up with Yachiru for long."

Kenshin couldn't believe how this day was turning out. He was supposed to be resting for his fight with his captain. He though about a quick spar with Ikkaku or Yumichika to help him prepare for the match. Instead he was chasing around his pink haired, infantile, lieutenant around the Seireitei trying to reclaim his own property!

He took a minute to catch his breath. He was exhausted Kenshin looked up to see Yachiru bouncing in place, giggling, waiting for him. He started wondering if this was why she was made lieutenant. Did she beat her opponents by tiring them out through running around under the guise of some game and then come in for the kill?

"Come on, slowpoke!" she called out happily.

"My name is Kenshin!" he shouted, tired of the nickname she had given him. "Give me back my zanpakutō!" he ordered. He was tired of this 'game'.

"But, then the game will be over!" she replied.

"I told you I don't have time for games!" he shouted and jumped for her. She hoped back, landing on another wall with a childish giggle.

"You're too slow!" she stated happily, then continued to run. Kenshin only growled and chased after her.

****

Rangiku was having a good day. Being a member of Squad Ten was a pretty sweet deal. As a new recruit, she didn't have to do anything. A few men had come on to her since her arrival, but they regretted it once she showed them that she got by on more than just her good looks. Her captain praised her when she demonstrated her skills on one of the men that had foolishly underestimated her. She wondered what Kenshin would have thought of her. She knew that he would have beaten them senseless for trying to put the moves on his big sister.

Speaking of Kenshin, she was surprised by how much she missed him and their morning routine. It had only been a day, but she decided she ought to go visit him. Rangiku was a little nervous about stepping into the Eleventh Squad barracks.

Just then, something landed right in front of her, causing her to jump back with a shriek. Upon further inspection, she realized it was a child… in a Soul Reaper shihakushō!

"STOP RUNNING!" she heard someone shout. She recognized the voice and turned her head to see Kenshin dive towards the little girl.

The little girl jumped out of the way with a giggle and Kenshin was left to land face first onto the ground in the spot where she once was.

"Almost! You're getting better," the girl said with a grin before running off again.

Rangiku looked between the two, confusion etched on her face.

"Hello Rangiku," Kenshin grumbled into the ground.

"Hi, Kenshin," she greeted back, still very confused. "Uh… what're you doing? And who's that?" she asked, pointing to the girl that was waiting on the opposite wall. Kenshin growled as he slowly pushed his torso off the ground to glare at Yachiru.

"A demon in child form. She stole my zanpakutō and won't give it back unless I survive her torture," he grumbled.

"What?! You let a child steal your zanpakutō?" she asked incredulously as she helped him stand.

"I was in pain!" he said defensively. "My squad gave me one hell of a welcome yesterday."

"I told you so didn't I?" Rangiku asked smugly.

"Shut up!"

"Hey!" Yachiru called out. "Come on, I want to play some more!"

Kenshin growled and chased her over the Tenth Division wall, with Rangiku following close behind.

"So who exactly is she?" Rangiku asked as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop after Yachiru.

"Yachiru Kusajishi… my lieutenant," he admitted, slightly embarrassed. Rangiku's eyes went wide with surprise.

"That little girl is your lieutenant?!" Kenshin only nodded. "How is that possible? Would they even let someone that young into the academy?"

"I don't know, but I've fought the Third Seat of my squad and would have lost if my captain hadn't stopped the fight. I doubt she would be made lieutenant if she couldn't beat the Third Seat."

"Wow… scary," Rangiku said, very glad she wasn't in Squad Eleven.

"We'll find out after we catch her and after we get my zanpakutō back!" he said, quickening his pace.

Several hours later, Kenshin and Rangiku were about to give up. They had come close to catching Yachiru numerous times, but every time she managed to evade them. It was late afternoon when Kenshin and Rangiku were doubled over and out of breath, while Yachiru looked like she wasn't even close to tired.

"This is stupid!" Kenshin said through ragged breaths. "How does something so small have so much energy?!"

"I think you might have been right about her being a demon," Rangiku said, past the point of being annoyed with the girl.

"How do we stop her?" Kenshin asked desperately. "How do you tame a little girl?" He looked up to Rangiku who looked like she had been struck by inspiration.

"There is only one thing that can make a little girl do what you want her too," she said with a smile.

"What?" Kenshin looked to her with a raised brow.

"Hey Yachiru!" Rangiku called out. "I have some candy for you if you give Kenshin his zanpakutō back."

Yachiru perked up, her eyes twinkled with delight. She ran towards Rangiku throwing the zanpakutō back at Kenshin. He could not catch the sword in time and was thrown to the ground with a red mark from where the zanpakutō hit his face. Yachiru jumped at Rangiku expecting to be given candy, but instead Rangiku held Yachiru with in her hands and smirked at her.

"Game over, we caught you!" she stated smugly.

"Aww, there's no candy?! That's mean!" Yachiru whined.

"You had us chase you around the Seireitei and you're calling us mean!" Kenshin shouted as he stood up.

"But it was fun!" Yachiru said happily.

"Not for me," Kenshin said, as he turned and walked away.

"Hey wait up, Kenny-Two!" Yachiru called out as she hoped out of Rangiku's grasp and after Kenshin.

"Kenny-Two?" he asked with confusion, looking back at Yachiru. "My name's Kenshin."

"Our captain's name is Kenny and your name is Kenny, so you're Kenny-Two!" she explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Kenshin only looked more confused.

"That's cute Kenshin, she gave you a nickname!" Rangiku said with a smile.

Kenshin sighed and continued walking. There was no way he was going to get to fight his captain, even though he was secretly grateful for that. Suddenly, something collided with the back of his head, bring him rudely from his thoughts. At first he thought Rangiku had hit him, but he hadn't done anything wrong. He felt something resting on his shoulders and on top of his head. He looked to the side and saw feet draped over his shoulder. He knew who it was instantly.

"What are you doing?" he asked Yachiru.

"I'm sleepy!"

"But, why are you on my head?" he asked growing annoyed.

"Because Kenny let's me ride on his shoulder when I'm sleepy, but your shoulders too small," she explained. Kenshin groaned and then let out a sigh. He was too tired to argue with her.

"Fine. But if you drool on my head I leaving you here!" he warned.

"Ok!" she said before laying her head down on the top of his.

"That's so cute, Kenshin!" Rangiku said with a giggle.

"Shut up!" he grumbled.

As they walked back, Kenshin could hear Yachiru's light snoring as she slept against his head and a small smile crept onto his lips. Sure, she caused him many problems since he met her, but she was still just a child and some part of him found her antics a little cute. He also found the nickname she gave him to be a little flattering. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

****

It was evening, by the time Kenshin arrived back at the Eleventh Squad barracks with Yachiru. He and Rangiku had parted ways when they got to the Tenth Squad barracks. He saw Ikkaku and Yumichika sitting outside the main building. They looked up when they heard Kenshin's foot steps.

"There you are! Where have you been?" Yumichika asked. Kenshin pointed his thumb at Yachiru in response. Yumichika seemed satisfied with the answer.

"The captain's been waiting for you all day," Ikkaku stated. "He thought you chickened out."

"Blame it on Pinky here. I can see why she was made Lieutenant. I'd rather fight a thousand hollows than play another one of her 'games'," Kenshin grumbled.

"I see you two have gotten to know each other very well," Yumichika stated, inferring to how Yachiru was sleeping on Kenshin's head.

"Can you tell me how to get her off my head?"

"Just toss her into her room. She sleeps like a rock," Ikkaku said as he walked inside.

"I'm sure the captain will understand why you weren't here when he finds out Yachiru was involved," Yumichika said as he and Kenshin walked inside. "He'll still want to fight with you tomorrow, though."

"I'll worry about that later. Right now I'm going to bed," Kenshin said tiredly.

He didn't even bother looking for Yachiru's room. When he got to his room he simply pried her off and tossed her onto an extra pillow before falling on his own bed. He was asleep before his head hit the mattress. Yachiru had certainly tired him out. He slept peacefully with his zanpakutō held tightly in his hands, just in case Yachiru wanted to play again when he woke up.

****

**Finally, I've updated. Now I can focus on the next chapter for other Bleach story that is currently in the works. I start college again in a few days so I can't say when this story will get another update, especially since I have class on a Saturday at 9 am… ugh. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Well here is the latest chapter, finally. I'll be honest; I hated writing this chapter, which is probably why it too so long to write. I ended up rewriting it twice before sending it to my beta reader who luckily gave me some great advice before I posted this.**

**I have to thank my beta reader, Whitecloud for fixing up this chapter and getting it back to me to post for this weekend.**

**Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm going to see Alice in Wonderland! That has nothing to do with the story, I'm just so excited about it XD**

**Anyway, on with the chapter!**

* * *

"Hey kid wake up!" Kenshin heard someone shout from under his blanket. Kenshin recognized the voice as Ikkaku and groaned audibly.

"It's early!" he whined. "Tell Captain Zaraki I'll fight him, just later!" Kenshin was still very exhausted from his day with Yachiru. He wasn't sore like the day before, but he just wanted to rest. Apparently, Ikkaku did not care.

"Don't whine! Real men don't whine!" he shouted and pulled the covers off of Kenshin. "Captain Zaraki told me to come get you, so let's go!" he shouted once more and pulled off the bed by the back of his collar.

He released Kenshin, so he could run on is own two feet down the hall. They met up with Yumichika who handed Kenshin some bread and told him to eat it quickly.

"Why would he want to fight me when I'm tired?" Kenshin asked, rubbing his eyes as he ran.

"He doesn't want to fight you; he wants you to come with us on a mission!" Ikkaku said, getting a little annoyed.

"A mission? What kind of mission?" His interests had been piqued now.

"Hollows have been spotted in the Thirty-Seventh District of East Rukon, big ones," he said, a little too happily for Kenshin's tastes. "The mission's simple: we go and kill them."

"Is it just our squad?"

"Squad Ten will be helping us clean up after we've killed most of them," Yumichika stated.

Kenshin's eyes widened a bit. Rangiku was in Squad Ten. Did that mean she would be out there as well? If they could send him out, then they could easily send Rangiku out to fight as well right? If that was true then he needed to be there to fulfill the promise he made to her during their first year at the academy. He would not let his sister get hurt ever again.

"When do we leave?" he asked, now very alert and determined. Ikkaku seemed to notice this.

"That's much better. We'll be leaving in a few minutes so hurry and up and eat and meet up with us in the courtyard" he said and took off at a sprint. Yumichika had stayed with Kenshin until he finished eating his bread and eyed Kenshin with curiosity.

"Hmmm…"

"What is it?" Kenshin asked staring back.

"I just find it strange how you seem so eager to join us. Care to tell me why?"

"My sister is in Squad Ten," Kenshin answered simply.

"Oh!" Yumichika understood immediately. Kenshin's desire to take part in the mission was personal. The two said nothing and hurried to the courtyard.

The two arrived at the courtyard and joined the rest of the squad. Ikkaku had dragged him to the front to stand with him and Yumichika. Captain Zaraki arrived shortly after the squad had assembled with Yachiru comfortably sitting on his shoulder

"Alright boys, we've got some Hollows to kill in the Rukon district," Kenpachi addressed his men. "Squad Ten will be showing up to help us clean up, but hopefully we can get them all before that happens; I don't want them spoiling our fun," he said with a grin.

Kenshin didn't really see the fun in this and was not all too concerned about finding it. He wanted to end this before Squad Ten would arrive as well, but only to keep Rangiku out of harms way. He broke out of his thoughts when he noticed a giant shadow cast over him. He looked up to see the hulking mass of his captain standing before him.

"I hope you're ready for this kid," he said.

"Not entirely captain, I've never killed a hollow," Kenshin admitted. Kenpachi scoffed.

"Don't worry about it, with your skills you should be fine," he said casually. "Besides, Ikkaku and Yumichika will be watching out for you, just don't be a burden for them. Understand?"

"Yes sir!"

"Alright, let's go," Kenpachi shouted and led his men out of the barracks.

* * *

The squad rushed out of the Seireitei as quickly as possible. At the speed they were running, it took them less than an hour to get through the first thirty-six districts of the Rukon. Kenshin worried that they might not have been moving fast enough. He didn't know if Squad Ten was already on the way or if they left before them. He really hoped it wasn't the latter.

He found himself wondering how the battle would play out. He learned how to function with a team at the academy, but he learned on his first day that Squad Eleven didn't seem to care for effective planning and prided itself on one-on-one fights.

He didn't have much time to dwell on it, because they soon crossed the border into the thirty-seventh district. The Hollows were where Ikkaku has said they would be when he briefed Kenshin further on the mission on their way there. More than a dozen Hollows were wreaking havoc on the plains where the farmers grew crops near the residential area, chasing after the people that had been out in the open when they arrived. They were big, just as Ikkaku said; most of them were five times Kenshin's size.

Kenshin suddenly felt very unsure of himself, a stark contrast to his fellow squad members who seem to be growing excited by the second.

"Alright, you all know the drill!" Kenpachi shouted. "Kill them all and don't get in my way!" He said no more and charged into battle with Yachiru giggling on his shoulder.

"Let's go kid!" Ikkaku shouted and took off.

"Try and keep up," Yumichika added before following Ikkaku. Kenshin ran after them, knowing he would be safer.

They came upon a group of three Hollows, with Ikkaku taking the lead. The Third Seat wasted no time and drawing his weapon and striking the first Hollow, managing to remove its arm.

"You see that kid? It's easy!" Ikkaku shouted before resuming his onslaught. Kenshin nodded and drew his zanpakutō. Now was the time to prove his worth to his squad.

"Take the smallest one. Aim for the mask," Yumichika instructed and the engaged one of the other Hollows.

Kenshin faced the smallest one, though it still towered over him. It seemed to notice him and was already charging at him with a bloodlust roar. Kenshin steeled himself and remembered his training.

The Hollow was thirty yards away…

'_Wait for it…' _he thought.

Twenty yards away…

'_Wait for it…'_

Ten yards…

'_Just a little more…'_

The Hollow was soon on him, reared its giant fist back and swung it at Kenshin.

'_Now!'_

Kenshin leapt to the side before the Hollow could crush his body. He quickly swung his zanpakutō down and sliced the Hollow's arm. The Hollow quickly pulled it back in pained recoiled, leaving Kenshin with an opening. He ran straight towards the Hollow and sliced at its leg as he ran under it, causing the Hollow to drop to his knee. Kenshin faced the Hollow's back and quickly jumped onto the its back before it could get back up and drove his zanpakutō into the Hollows flesh to keep him from falling off. The Hollow roared more in anger than pain and began thrashing about trying to reach for Kenshin. Kenshin was able to keep himself from being thrown off and used his zanpakutō as a stepping stone to wrap his arm around the Hollow's neck. This seemed to agitate the Hollow further and roared once more and tried to pry Kenshin off of its neck. Kenshin pulled his weapon out of the Hollow and quickly thrust the blade into Hollow's palm before it managed to grab him. The Hollow roared for a third time, clutching its bleeding hand. Kenshin twirled his zanpakutō so that the blade faced inward, and swung it into the Hollows gaping mouth. The Hollow ceased moving as the blade penetrated the back of its throat and let out a gurgle before Kenshin pulled the blade upwards. Warm blood splashed against his face as it spurted out of the Hollow's mask. He jumped off of the Hollow before it faded into oblivion as it fell to the ground.

Kenshin's heart was pounding. It wasn't from fear like before. This was adrenaline that he was feeling. He actually got a thrill out of slaying a Hollow. He placed his hand to his face and when he pulled it back, he saw the blood from the Hollow drip down his palm and forearm. He felt a strange satisfaction at seeing the blood of his kill flow down his hand. He snapped back to reality as another Hollow ran towards him. Kenshin managed to side-step its attack and did his best to keep out of its line of sight while he looked for an opening

"Looks like you're enjoying yourself," Ikkaku shouted with a smirk as he fought another Hollow

"Yeah…" Kenshin said with a distant expression. "I could get used to this," he shouted back, a hint of a smile forming on his lips. He returned his attention to the Hollow and engaged it with a widening grin.

During the next hour, a majority of the Hollows had been slain and only a few remained. As the number of Hollows dwindled, so did Kenshin's fear of battle. With each Hollow he slew, he felt a surge of excitement pulse through him. This development wasn't lost on Kenpachi, who watched Kenshin in between each of his killings. Kenpachi was satisfied with Kenshin's work. He could see a love for fighting growing in the newest member of his squad and it pleased him. It would only make their fight all the more interesting. Soon all of the Hollows had been dispatched and the Eleventh Squad regrouped in the middle of the battlefield.

"All of the Hollows have been taken care of Captain," Ikkaku stated.

"Good. How'd the kid do, Ikkaku?"

"Better than expected, captain."

"Perfect," Kenpachi said with a grin. "Fighting you is going to be alotta fun kid." Kenshin only grinned and nodded his head. After a day of killing Hollows, he didn't feel so nervous about fighting his captain anymore.

"Way to go, Kenny-Two!" Yachiru shouted, jumping from Kenpachi's shoulder and onto Kenshin's face. The squad burst into laughter as Kenshin ran around in circles trying to pry Yachiru off of his face and shouting obscenities while she giggled happily.

They were about to depart back to the Seireitei, when officers from Squad Ten finally arrived. Kenshin spotted Rangiku amongst the officers. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that no harm would come to her.

"So, which one is your sister?" Yumichika asked curiously.

"That one," he informed, pointing at Rangiku. Yumichika gasped with what Kenshin wagered was admiration.

"She's beautiful!"

"Why does she wear her uniform like that?" Ikkaku inquired as he eyed her. Kenshin recognized it as the same look Ikkaku gave him the first day they met. He was sizing her up to see if she would provide a challenge.

"My sister is… unique," Kenshin said, choosing his words carefully. He left the two to meet with Rangiku.

"You're late," he said to her with a smirk.

"All of the Hollows are gone?" she said with a whine. "And to think I had to get out of bed early for this." Kenshin grimaced in annoyance.

"You're a Soul Reaper now; do you think you could be a little more professional?"

"Do you think you could be a little bit taller?" she asked with a smirk, earning a growl from Kenshin.

"Why are you still making fun of my height?!" he demanded.

"Because it's still funny to see how you react," she said with a laugh.

Kenshin turned when he sensed two familiar spiritual pressures and saw Ikkaku and Yumichika making their way towards him and Rangiku.

"So, you're the kid's sister?" Ikkaku asked casually.

"Don't be rude Kenshin, introduce us!" Yumichika chided.

"Alright! Rangiku this Ikkaku Madarame, the squad Third Seat and Yumichika Ayesagawa, the squad Fifth Seat."

"Whatcha doin' Kenny-Two?" came the voice of all too familiar pink child that just jumped onto his shoulders, much to his annoyance.

"Rangiku, you remember Yachiru," he grumbled.

"Hi Big Boobies!" Yachiru greeted cheerfully. Ikkaku let out a snicker and Rangiku blushed at her new nickname.

"How could I forget Yachiru?" Rangiku asked sarcastically. "Has my brother been doing well in your squad?" she asked the two seated officers.

"The kid's a natural Hollow slayer," Ikkaku commented, giving Kenshin a hearty pat on the back.

"He certainly seems to add an air of civility to the squad," Yumichika stated.

"Kenny-Two is fun!" Yachiru added.

Rangiku smiled. She was glad to see that her brother was doing well in the Eleventh Division. For a moment, she found a reason not to worry about him.

"Well I'm glad to hear all that," she said cheerfully. "He was terrible with almost everything in the academy except for fighting and flower arrangement. It's nice to know he's good at something."

"RANGIKU!" Kenshin shouted in embarrassment.

"Flower arrangement?" Ikkaku queried, looking at Kenshin with a scrutinizing stare.

"It's not how it sounds!" Kenshin said defensively.

"I think that's rather adorable, Kenshin," Yumichika said.

Kenshin slammed his palm into his face and groaned while his sister shared every embarrassing detail of his years in the academy. He looked away so no one could see his red tinted cheeks.

For an instant he thought he saw the ground behind Rangiku shift a bit. He looked again, and saw that the ground was definitely moving. The shaking soil revealed the outline of what looked like a spider. When he saw the outline flicker, for a split second, he saw the white of a Hollow mask. He also saw the faint outline of tail that ended in a sharp point. He wasted no time in acting and threw Yachiru off of his shoulders and ran toward Rangiku.

"LOOK OUT!" he shouted and pushed his sister out of the way just seconds before the stinger made contact with her, leaving him to take her place.

The tail punctured his right shoulder and passed through his back. He howled in pain as it tore through his flesh and when the Hollow pulled its tail out.

"KENSHIN!" Rangiku shouted. She eyed the now visible Hollow that had Kenshin's blood dripping from its blade-like tail with a fiery anger in her eyes.

She leapt in front of Kenshin and deflected the blow of the Hollow's second attack. The Hollow scurried away once it realized that its presence had been discovered and it was no longer able to hide his spiritual pressure.

"You're not getting away!" Rangiku shouted angrily and then she pointed her zanpakutō at the retreating Hollow.

"Growl, Haineko!" she shouted.

The blade of her zanpakutō turned to dust, leaving only the hilt left. The dust seemed to sparkle in the afternoon sunlight as it flew towards the Hollow. The dust gathered around the Hollow and made it's way into the Hollows mouth and eyes. It stopped running and began writhing and howling in pain until it stopped moving completely. The dust floated out of the Hollow's body as it faded away.

Kenshin was awestruck at what he had just witnessed. His sister had actually released her zanpakutō. He wondered when she had learned its name. She would have told him if she had learned it when they met the day before so how did she do what she just did?

Rangiku seemed to be shocked by the event as well. Moments ago, she had no knowledge of her zanpakutō' spirit, but when she saw Kenshin, her little brother, sacrifice himself for her, she swore she heard someone whisper the name "Haineko" and then she just knew what she had to do. Suddenly, she remembered Kenshin and rushed toward her brother's side. Ikkaku and Yumichika had gathered around him to inspect the wound.

"Are you alright?" she asked, though it seemed like a stupid thing to ask; her brother was bleeding profusely and there was a gaping hole in his shoulder.

"It's pretty bad," Ikkaku stated, ripping off what was left of the top half of Kenshin's shihakushō to cover the wound in Kenshin's shoulder.

"He needs to be brought to the Fourth Division immediately," Yumichika said as he swung Kenshin's good arm over his shoulders and helped him to stand. He and Rangiku helped Kenshin away from the battlefield and to the Seireitei as fast as they could.

* * *

Retsu Unohana was peacefully sipping her tea on the veranda outside her private quarters, enjoying the fresh air. She turned her head when she felt the spiritual pressure of her lieutenant and saw Isane running towards her, a look of urgency etched onto her face.

"What is it, Lieutenant Kotetsu," she asked calmly.

"A member of Squad Eleven was just brought in, captain. His condition is critical!"

Worry quickly filled Unohana and in seconds, she was making her way towards her division hospital at a very quick pace. Having members of Squad Eleven in her division was an uncommon thing, given the reckless nature of every recruit in the squad, but they weren't what concerned her. She just hoped that the person who was lying in her hospital wasn't who she thought it was.

'_Kenshin… please don't let it be Kenshin' _she pleaded silently.

When she walked into the infirmary, her fear was realized. Kenshin was lying in one of the beds, blood flowing from the makeshift bandage on his shoulder, into the sheets, and dripping onto the floor. His skin was pale and beads of sweat were dripping from his brow. She recognized the two that stood beside his bed as his elder sister, Rangiku Matsumoto, and the Fifth Seat of Squad Eleven, Yumichika Ayesagawa. Rangiku was clutching onto Kenshin's hand for dear life, tears sliding down her cheeks. Unohana gently pulled her away from him.

"Please help him," Rangiku begged.

"I will," the Fourth Division captain said. Rangiku could see that she meant those words and stepped back to let her work.

Unohana removed the bloodied piece of his shihakushō to inspect the wound with Isane close by to aid in the procedure. The wound was much worse than she had imagined.

"What did this?" she asked, still looking over the wound.

"It was a spider Hollow," Yumichika answered. "It had a power that allowed it to conceal itself along with its spiritual pressure. It pierced him with a stinger."

"I was the one it wanted!" Rangiku cried out hysterically. "Why did he push me out of the way?!"

"For the same reason he did so six years ago," Unohana said gently. "He loves you, Miss Matsumoto, and would willingly throw himself in harms way for you."

This didn't ease Rangiku's stress, it only made it worse. Her brother was in the once again being treated for serious wounds because she couldn't take care of herself.

"Do not blame yourself, Miss Matsumoto," Unohana said in an attempt to quell her distress.

Rangiku hung her head, but nodded. Feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to help her brother.

Unohana resumed her work. Using Kido, she replaced the missing bone, muscle tissue, and closed the wound. Isane handed her captain a long role of gauze and then carefully lifted Kenshin's torso up so Unohana could wrap the gauze around his shoulder and armpit. The wound was healed, but Unohana left a scar just in case Kenshin decided to keep it as a memento of his first fight, since many of the Soul Reapers in the Eleventh Division kept their battle scars as a badge of honor.

Rangiku stood by and marveled at how what was once a serious wound was now nothing more than a blemish on her brother's skin. Though, this kind of miracle work was to be expected of the captain of the Fourth Division, one of the oldest and strongest captains in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

Captain Unohana had informed Rangiku and Yumichika that Kenshin would be fine- something she herself was very happy for – and that he simply needed some rest. She would rather have him stay over night since it was nearing dusk. Rangiku chose to stay by her brother's side until he awoke. Yumichika decided to return to the squad and come back in a few hours to see if Kenshin was alright. With the worst over, Rangiku chose to take some time to meditate on her newly acquired shikai and how she obtained it. About an hour later, Kenshin awoke.

"Where am I?"

"The Fourth Division," Rangiku informed. "How do you feel?"

"Tired, but I guess I'm alright." He slowly sat up, with aid from Rangiku, and examined his shoulder. The spot beneath the bandages was sore and it was slightly painful to move it. He was glad that the gaping hole was gone.

After tentatively rolling and moving his shoulder a bit, he decided it was time to ask Rangiku about her new power.

"Rangiku, when did you learn shikai?" She only shrugged her shoulders.

"I didn't know it a few hours ago," she admitted. "After you pushed me out of the way from the Hollow's attack, I saw you lying on the ground bleeding and then I heard a voice whisper a name to me. I knew it was my zanpakutō. I was just so angry with the Hollow, I just used it without thinking."

Kenshin nodded as he listened. He was proud of his sister for achieving shikai, but he also felt just a bit jealous. His zanpakutō had looked down on him from the very beginning and seemed to have no intention of sharing its name with him. Kenshin couldn't help but feel depressed that, despite all his hard work and training, he still wasn't strong enough to protect his sister. Instead he was injured and sent to Fourth Division, while she was the one who ended up saving him.

Rangiku noticed her brother's forlorn mood and gently wrapped her arms around him, careful to mind his shoulder.

"Don't be upset, I still think you're the stronger one," she said, trying to cheer him up. Kenshin appreciated the gesture, but still took the news rather hard.

"So, how is everything?" came the voice of Captain Unohana. Seeing her was almost enough to make Kenshin forget about his distress.

"He's much better. Thank you Captain," Rangiku said, letting go of her brother to give a light bow.

"You are very welcome Miss Matsumoto," she said sweetly. "You should return to your squad now, they're probably wondering where you are."

"Oh no!" Rangiku shouted with a gasp. She was so worried about Kenshin, she had completely lost track of time.

"Do not worry," Unohana said calmly. "I sent a Hell Butterfly earlier to let your captain know where you were."

"Thank you, Captain Unohana," Rangiku said with another bow. She hugged her Kenshin once more and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying back to the Tenth Squad barracks.

"You are quite lucky to have a sister like that, Kenshin," Unohana stated, watching Rangiku leave.

"Yeah…" Kenshin answered absentmindedly.

Unohana looked at the young Soul Reaper in the hospital bed. Kenshin had been one of her favorite students at the academy and she had learned much about him. Just like when he told her about his zanpakutō's refusal to communicate with him, Unohana could tell that Kenshin was depressed about something.

"Something troubles you," she stated knowingly.

"Huh? No it's nothing, captain," he lied.

"Kenshin," she said placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Do you remember what I told you all those years ago? You can speak to me about anything."

Kenshin found it hard to not take what she said to heart. Captain Unohana had always been a source of encouragement for him and she had this incredible ability to pick him up when he was down. He didn't doubt that now would be any different.

"After the Hollow did this to me," he began "Rangiku killed it using her shikai. I'm happy that she learned how to use it and I'm grateful that she was so concerned about me, but… I feel weaker," he admitted dejectedly.

"You have no reason to feel that way, Kenshin," Unohana said kindly. "Were it not for your sacrifice, your sister could have been lying in this bed instead of you and she may not have been as lucky."

Her words did make sense. Kenshin didn't doubt that the Hollow could have easily killed Rangiku if he hadn't noticed it in time. Instead of seeing his sister comforting him, he might have been here crying over her death.

"Thank you, Captain," he said with a small smile.

Unohana smiled back and did something that Kenshin had not expected: she hugged him. Kenshin was at a loss for words. He had always found Unohana's words to be comforting, but being held by her was unlike anything he had ever felt. He felt so safe and peaceful in her arms. He slowly wrapped his around her as well. Kenshin couldn't even remember why he was so upset as he sat their in the embrace of Retsu Unohana.

* * *

Captain Unohana cleared Kenshin to return to his squad barracks the next day. He chose to keep the scar so it would serve as a reminder of what would happen if he didn't act quickly when someone he cared about was in danger.

He met up with Yumichika along the way and together they headed for the Eleventh Division. Upon there arrival, Kenshin was greeted by an ever cheerful Yachiru, who begged him to play a game with her now that he was better. Ikkaku concern centered on whether or not Kenshin could still fight.

"The Fourth Division cleared you right?" he asked impatiently.

"Yes, but my arm is still sore," Kenshin answered, not really wanting to fight Ikkaku at less than one hundred percent.

"Didn't you hear me the first time?" Ikkaku asked, annoyed. "A real man ignores pain!"

"That's enough Ikkaku," came the voice of Captain Zaraki. Ikkaku grumbled but backed off.

"How's your arm?" Kenpachi asked Kenshin.

"Better, sir."

What happened next left Kenshin with little time to react. Almost faster than Kenshin could see, Kenpachi had unsheathed his zanpakutō and swung it down on Kenshin. Kenshin drew his weapon and held the blade against his captain, just half a second before Kenpachi's blade made contact with his face. The quick movement aggravated Kenshin's already sensitive arm and he winced slightly as he held his captain's zanpakutō at bay. Everyone moved away to give the two some space. Kenshin rolled away from Kenpachi and took his stance. He knew his captain wanted to fight him, but he didn't think it would be right after recovering from an injury.

Kenpachi faced Kenshin, but did not take up a battle stance. Instead, he seemed to be just staring at Kenshin.

"I don't get it," he said out loud. Kenshin raised a brow in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Captain?"

Kenpachi charged at Kenshin and swung his blade from the side. Kenshin managed to block the strike with his weapon, but the amount of strength behind it sent him flying. He successfully landed on his feet.

Kenshin winced again as he lifted his right arm to hold up his weapon. The sheer force behind that last strike amazed him. His captain had just tossed him aside like he was rag doll effortlessly. He always knew that a captain's level of power was something to be reckoned with, but even so, the brute strength of Kenpachi Zaraki astonished him.

Just like the first time, Kenpachi stared at Kenshin with a hard gaze.

"You can block my attacks easily," Kenpachi stated. "Why couldn't you do it then?"

"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked. Something wasn't right.

Kenpachi always talked about wanting to fight Kenshin, but this didn't feel like a real fight at all. Kenpachi didn't have his usual excited grin on his face and he didn't seem like he was really focused on the fight so much as he was focused on Kenshin.

"When you fought the Hollows, you fought those Hollows you struck without hesitating," Kenpachi informed. "But when that girl showed up, you didn't even bother to defend yourself."

"Girl? You mean my sister?" Kenshin asked curiously.

"Your sister?" Kenpachi asked, slightly surprised. "Oh, now I get it."

Kenpachi then sheathed his sword and walked away, leaving a very confused Kenshin.

"Captain?" he asked, lowering his stance.

"The fight's over. I don't fight weak people," Kenpachi said as he walked away without looking at Kenshin.

"Weak? What do you mean by that, Captain?" Kenshin felt like he had just been punched in the stomach. He thought his work would have earned him praise. Kenpachi stopped and turned to face the neophyte Soul Reaper.

"When you fight, you fight only for yourself with all that you are and all that have," Kenpachi stated. "Fighting for anything else is just a distraction and that's what makes you weak."

Kenshin could only watch, dumbfounded as his captain walked away, back into the squad's main building.

Kenshin was dumbfounded. Yesterday Captain Zaraki couldn't wait to fight him, now it didn't even seem like he would spare Kenshin a passing glance ,all because he did what he felt was necessary to save his sister. He felt anger swell within him. He thought that after the past three days he spent demonstrating his skills, he had already proven to his captain that he was far from weak, but all his captain cared about was that he had done something his captain felt made him weak.

Ikkaku and Yumichika were surprised at their captain's sudden change in attitude. They had been carefully observing Kenshin since he arrived, Ikkaku especially. After fighting with Kenshin and watching him slay the Hollows, Ikkaku believed that Kenshin was a very capable fighter and had shown no signs of weakness, at least none that he could see. He wanted answers, so he followed after his captain, while Yumichika went to see if Kenshin was alright.

Ikkaku caught up with his captain in the hallway leading to his office.

"What was that about Captain?" he asked, clearly confused. "I thought you couldn't wait to fight the kid."

"He's not ready," Kenpachi answered, continuing his way to his office.

"He may not be as strong as me or Yumichika, but he's definitely got talent as a fighter," Ikkaku protested.

"That's not what I meant, Ikkaku," Kenpachi answered, stopping to face his Third Seat.

"Huh?" Ikkaku was more than confused now.

"I'm not sayin' the kid's got no talent or skill; he's probably ready for a seated position now," Kenpachi admitted.

"Then why don't you want to fight him anymore?" Ikkaku asked, slightly irate. His captain was contradicting himself and wasn't providing him with a straight answer. Kenpachi stayed silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Do you remember when he saved his sister from the Hollow?" Ikkaku nodded.

"Before she showed up, he fought with a fire in his eyes. Once he saw that Hollow aim for his sister, that fire burnt out and all I saw was fear," Kenpachi explained.

"Fear?" Ikkaku queried. "He wasn't afraid. He reacted and saved his sister. He would have killed that Hollow if it hadn't taken his arm."

"No he wouldn't," Kenpachi stated. "He wasn't afraid of the Hollow, he was afraid for his sister."

Ikkaku seemed taken aback at this incisive observation, but quickly found where his captain was getting at.

"He was afraid of her dying on him and, in an instant, forgot everything he knew about fighting," Kenpachi explained. "As long as he holds his fear of losing the ones he cares about, he'll never be ready."

"I understand, captain," Ikkaku said with a bow. "How should we take care of this?"

"He'll have to figure it out on his own; he won't be strong otherwise," Kenpachi replied. "Until then make sure he keeps training."

"Yes sir," Ikkaku said before leaving.

Kenpachi walked into his office and found Yachiru sitting on his desk, playing with one of her toys.

"Hi Kenny!" she greeted ever cheerful.

"When did you get here?" he asked.

"While you were talking to Baldy, I came in through the window," she answered, pointing at the open window. Kenpachi merely shrugged and sat at his desk.

"Are you mad at Kenny-Two, Kenny?"

"No, it's nothin' like that."

"Then how come you don't wanna fight him anymore?"

"He needs to learn an important lesson first."

"Oh, okay!" Yachiru stated gleefully and resumed playing with her toys, losing interest in the topic.

Kenpachi looked out the window, ignoring his lieutenant's incredibly short attention span. Truth be told he still wanted to fight Kenshin, but as he explained to Ikkaku, Kenshin had a lot to learn before Kenpachi deemed him ready. He only hoped it wouldn't take too long; he hated waiting.

* * *

Kenshin returned to his room and sat on his bed. He couldn't believe that his captain had called his sister a distraction that made him weak. The only reason Kenshin trained and worked hard to gain strength was for her. She was why he made sure he was one of the top students in the academy.

"He's wrong," Kenshin said out loud.

Kenshin would never see his sister as a weakness. If anything, the events from the previous day would only encourage him to get stronger. He would never stop protecting his sister and would prove to his captain that wanting to protect someone wasn't a weakness.

He looked at his zanpakutō that laid beside him on the bed. He picked it up and stared at it, thinking back to how his sister spoke the name of her zanpakutō. For a moment, he himself thought about talking to it.

"… no!" he said angrily and tossed the weapon aside. "I'll show them… both of them," he said to himself.

He would prove to his captain and his zanpakutō that he was not weak, no matter what it took.

* * *

**I think I'm going to try and make the next chapter the last one for the Turn Back the Pendulum arc because I want to get to the meat of this story.**

**Tomorrow is my birthday, so please leave a review as a present!**


	10. Chapter 10

**It's been too long since I updated this. My other story, "The New World", seems to be the favorite so I have to focus more on that story from time to time. But lately, I've been feeling this story much more so I decided to devote a little more effort to this one. In fact, the next chapter is already done! I just have to send it to my beta reader, Whitecloud, for some fine tuning.**

Kenshin slid back from the last attack. His breathing was haggard and his aching muscles begged him to stop, but he refused to listen. Through the searing pain, Kenshin struggled to resume his stance and faced his opponent.

"Maybe we should stop for now…" Yumichika suggested several feet away from Kenshin. "It doesn't look like you can stand anymore."

"Do you see me lying on the ground licking my wounds?" Kenshin snapped. "No? Then keep fighting!"

"No need to be testy," Yumichika said, slightly surprised by his comrades anger. "I'm only concerned for your health."

"I can still swing my zanpakutō; you don't need to be concerned," he bit out.

"Very well," Yumichika sighed, and then rushed at Kenshin.

Kenshin made an attempt to charge as well, but he couldn't stop himself from limping. He tried his best to raise his sword to perform a strike, but his movements were sluggish, making it easy for Yumichika to grab his wrist and push Kenshin to the ground.

"You see? You're in no condition to fight," Yumichika stated.

"Stop treating me like a child!" Kenshin snapped once more.

"Enough!"

Kenshin turned his head to look at Ikkaku, who had been overseeing the fight.

"Yumichika is right," he stated. "I respect your desire to continue fighting, but this is just sad."

"I'm not done!" Kenshin shouted, getting back up.

"Shut up!" Ikkaku snapped. "Don't be an idiot. You've been fighting for two hours now. Only fools go into battle exhausted."

Kenshin hated to admit it, but Ikkaku was right. He could barely stand and his entire body was bruised.

"Yumichika will take you to the Fourth Division to get you patched up. You done more than enough today," Ikkaku said with finality. Kenshin hung his head in defeat.

'_Three years…' _he thought to himself. _'Three years and I've only come this far!'_

After his first and only fight with his captain and being called weak, Kenshin trained each and every day without rest. As a result, he was incredibly fit and his skills had improved much. Yumichika and Ikkaku even said he was ready for a seated position, but his captain refused to see him so it was unlikely he would receive such a promotion.

Yet despite it all, it still wasn't enough. Kenshin didn't have much skill in kido or his zanpakutō to back him up. He was forced to rely on raw power and speed from the very beginning. In the Eleventh Division, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

'_Have I reached my limit?' _Kenshin wondered if it was indeed the best he could do.

From the window of his office, Kenpachi watched the fight. He had to admit, the kid had improved from a few years back. If he had to guess, he was at a level higher than a Tenth Seat. Even so, he still wasn't ready.

'_It's been three years damnit!' _he thought in frustration. _'I'm getting sick of waiting!'_

He watched as Yumichika helped Kenshin to the Fourth Division. Kenpachi couldn't help but smirk at Kenshin's need to continue the fight despite his injuries. It reminded him of himself. This only made him want to fight Kenshin even more.

"How long do I have to wait damnit!" Kenpachi shouted, slamming his fist down onto his desk. The desk exploded into a thousand pieces.

"Just great…" Kenpachi muttered, looking at his decimated desk. Just another thing to aggravate him.

After having been discharged from the Fourth Division later that afternoon, Kenshin wandered out of the Seireitei to meet up with his friends in the Rukon District. He was still depressed about his earlier sparring match with Yumichika, but once he saw the smiling face of Captain Unohana, it helped him forget his inadequacy, if only for a little while. Sometimes Kenshin wished he were better at Kido. That way he could've joined Captain Unohana's squad.

Kenshin met up with his Lisa, Gin, and Rangiku in rather cozy restaurant in the First District. It was the first time the four of them had gathered in a long time. His friends had changed very little. Gin's fox grin was present on his face as always and the only different thing about Lisa was that she was the one that taunted Kenshin about his height. After Kenshin saved Rangiku three years ago, she had ceased her teasing and Lisa was more than happy to pick up her mantle.

With their drinks in hand, the foursome toasted to their friendship. Kenshin tried to keep his face happy, but he was too focused on his shortcomings for his smile to be genuine. Fortunately for him, his friends were quite perceptive and picked up on his mood.

"Kenshin, what's wrong with ya?" Gin asked first.

"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked, feigning ignorance.

"Cut the crap, shorty," Lisa said next, earning an annoyed glare from Kenshin. "How stupid do you think we are?"

"Just you…" Kenshin mumbled. He let out a yelp when he felt something hit his shin.

"I _can_ hear you, you know," Lisa stated.

"Seriously, Kenshin, what's bothering you?" Rangiku asked.

Kenshin looked away from all of them, deciding to stare at his hands as they tensed up and gripped his hakama.

"Kenshin…" Rangiku spoke softly as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We're all here for ya" Gin said with a grin.

"Just come out with it already!" Lisa said impatiently.

"Lisa!" Rangiku chided.

"Fine!" she said and took a deep breath. "Just tell us and you'll feel better."

"I doubt it," Kenshin mumbled and gave a long sigh.

"I just feel… like I'm just miles behind," he admitted.

"Miles behind what?" Rangiku asked, urging him to go on.

"Everyone. You, Gin, Lisa, everyone."

"Whadya mean?" Gin asked, confused.

"You graduated after one year at the academy and instantly became a Fifth Seat and then Third Seat that same year," He said, looking to Gin.

"Lisa became a Lieutenant as soon as she graduated and Rangiku's a Third Seat as well."

Everyone looked directly at Kenshin, waiting for him to finish.

"And me… my zanpakutō won't speak to me and I can barely perform even the most basic of Kido spells. My captain thinks I'm weak and won't let me go on missions anymore or even offer me a promotion," he explained.

"Three years as a Soul Reaper and I'm dead last…" Kenshin said, more to himself than his friends.

The three of them couldn't help, but feel sorry for him. Even Lisa was surprised with how much she pitied Kenshin. Rangiku got out of her chair and wrapped her arms around her little brother, comfortingly.

"You're not dead last," she said softly.

"Then what am I?"

"Just plain unlucky," Lisa stated with a shrug.

Kenshin raised a brow at her, unsure of how that would help him feel better.

"Think about it. You spend most of your life in one of the worst districts in the Rukon and get yourself beaten everyday by a group a wannabe thugs. You were the last one to learn of his spiritual powers. You had no talent for Kido at the academy, and and is totally ignored by his zanpakutō. You applied to Eleventh Division where you were greeted with beat down as a welcome, and tortured for a whole day by your Lieutenant. You were seriously injured in your shoulder during a mission…" Lisa held her hand up to prevent the protest Rangiku was starting, "and on the same day were declared a weakling by your own captain, and most likely to never go on another mission again or receive a promotion."

After she finished the list of Kenshin's every miserable failure, everyone stared at her blankly, wondering what her true intentions were.

"Uh, Lisa? Thanks for the recap of all my screw-ups, but please tell me that there's a part where you make feel better," Kenshin deadpanned.

"I'm getting to it," she said, waving her dismissively.

"You're only focusing on all the negative things that happened to you," she pointed out.

"Even though you grew up in the worst conditions, you gained a best friend and a sister. You may have been last to discover your power, but you still became a Soul Reaper and got a better life. You didn't excel in Kido, but you graduated as one of the top students in Hakuda and Zanjutsu. You became a personal favorite of Captain Unohana and she treats like a son. Once you found you could not communicate with your zanpakutō, it only encouraged you to get stronger. Before your falling out, you're captain brought you on a mission that by all rights you should not have gone on, much less participate in."

Lisa paused taking a sip from her glass. "As I said before, you're unlucky. However, good things still happened to you."

"She's got a point, Kenshin" Gin said. "Everyone's due for some good luck at some point."

Kenshin couldn't help but smile as he looked at his friends and sister.

"Thanks guys and thanks a lot Lisa. I know it was hard for you, and you have a very strange and mean way of doing it, but you actually made me feel better," Kenshin admitted.

"That's what I'm here for," she said smugly.

"Then where were you all those other years?" he asked dryly. He shouted in pain when he felt something hit his shin again. He glared at Lisa.

"One day I'm going to get you, Yadomaru," he growled.

"Hopefully it'll be the same day you reach adult height," she responded, unconcerned.

Kenshin was about to get up and make good on his threat, but Rangiku kept him pinned to his chair and told him to relax and take a breath. Even though he appeared to be angry, he was grinning on the inside. The melancholic mood amongst them foursome had disappeared and they resumed their lunch in much higher spirits.

Kenshin returned to his squad, sporting a grin instead of the grimace he had when he left. Yachiru was the first to greet him.

"Kenny-Two's back!" she cheered and dove for him.

Luckily, she had done this hundreds of times since Kenshin joined the squad, giving him more than enough chances predict her actions. Before she had collided with him, he caught her from under her arms and held her out.

"Why do you do that every time I come back home, Yachiru?"

"Cause it's fun!" she said cheerily. Kenshin sighed at her obvious answer that he heard oh so many times before. Still he smiled and allowed her to take her favorite spot on his shoulders.

"Are you going to fight with Baldy and Feathers again, Kenny-Two?"

"Hmm… no, I think I'll just relax for the rest of day," he said after giving it some thought. His outing with his friends and sister made him realized that he didn't need to kill himself to become stronger. Like Gin had said, good luck would present itself to him eventually; he just needed to be patient. On the way back to his room he ran into Ikkaku and Yumichika.

"Hey kid, you ready for another round?" Ikkaku asked.

"No thanks, I'm turning in for the day," he said, walking past them. Both looked at him in shock.

"That was unexpected," Yumichika pointed.

"What gives, Kenshin? You're in perfect health and you don't even wanna fight?" Ikkaku asked incredulously.

"Missing a few hours of training isn't going to have any serious affect on my performance as a Soul Reaper," he stated nonchalantly as he continued down the hall with Yachiru still on his shoulders. "I'll spar with you guys tomorrow."

Ikkaku and Yumichika watched with surprise as the same boy who early that day wanted to ignore his injuries and keep fighting blatantly refused to spar with them.

"What's with him?" Ikkaku asked out loud.

"Not sure, but I must admit, it is a relief to see him take it easy for a change," said Yumichika.

"I guess," Ikkaku said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I just don't want him getting sloppy. Captain Zaraki told me to keep him training."

"I have to say, I'm not really fond of the captain's decision regarding Kenshin."

"I can't disagree, but it's the captain's orders," Ikkaku said as he turned to make his way to the mess hall with Yumichika following close behind.

Kenshin laid back on his bed, his eyes closed. This was the first time in a long time he decided to skip a sparring match with Ikkaku or Yumichika and relax instead. Yachiru was sitting on the side of his bed kicking her feet.

"Kenny-Two, I'm bored!" she complained.

"I'm not making you stay here Yachiru," Kenshin said, keeping his eyes closed.

"How come you don't have any toys to play with?"

"Because I'm not a child."

"Then can we play a game?"

"I'm relaxing Yachiru," he said, determined not to get annoyed.

Yachiru pouted and hopped off the bed. She tiptoed to where Kenshin kept his zanpakutō and reached out to grab it.

"Leave it alone," Kenshin said, well aware of what she was doing.

Yachiru did as she was told and left the room to find something or someone else to play with… or torture. Kenshin sighed contently now that he was able to rest in peace. He thought about visiting Captain Unohana for tea or to practice Ikebana together.

"Emergency! Emergency!" Kenshin heard from a loud speaker outside his window.

"All captains are to report to the First Squad's barracks immediately. An anomaly has occurred with the Ninth Squad. The Ninth Squad's Captain Muguruma Kensei and Lieutenant Mashiro Kuna's spiritual pressure have completely vanished! An emergency meeting of all captains will commence immediately!"

Kenshin's eyes widened at the announcement. He had heard of the Ninth Division Captain's strength. What could have been strong enough to cause it to disappear? He decided to stay in his bed since the announcement said all captains had to report for an emergency meeting. That threw all his plans for visiting Captain Unohana out the window. There was nothing left for him to do but get a good night's sleep. He just hoped that whatever was going on, Captain Unohana would still be alright the next day.

**I know this chapter was a bit shorter than the last one, but it mostly just to get this story back on track.**

**R&R please!**


	11. Chapter 11

Kenshin awoke with a yawn and stretched his limbs. He couldn't recall the last time he slept so peacefully or woke up without feeling sore all over.

"I should skip my sparring matches more often," he said to himself. He gazed out his window. "It's too beautiful of a day to waste on training. I'll pay a visit to Rangiku or Gin or even Lisa," he added with a lazy smile.

'_I wonder if Captain Unohana is free today…' _he wondered. Then his memory clicked and he remembered the announcement about the emergency captain's meeting from yesterday. His brow furrowed a bit. He hoped she was alright.

'_I need to get over there and see'_ he decided, picking up his weapon and heading for the door.

"Attention! This is Head Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto with important…and sorrowful news," the voice of the Head Captain boomed. Kenshin moved away from the door and to the window to listen to the announcement.

"Last night the spiritual pressure of Captain Kensei Muguruma and Lieutenant Mashiro Kuna vanished. In an effort to discover the cause of this horrific occurrence, a special team consisting of three captains and three lieutenants was sent to investigate." There was a pregnant silence as Kenshin waited for the Head Captain to continue.

"Unfortunately…we have lost all trace of their spiritual pressure as well," Yamamoto continued. Kenshin's eyes widened when he realized what the news meant.

"It is with great sorrow that I pronounce Captains Rojuro Otoribashi, Shinji Hirako, Love Aikawa, Kensei Muguruma, and Lieutenants Lisa Yadomaru, Mashiro Kuna, Hiyori Sarugaki, and Hachigen Ushoda deceased."

Kenshin bolted out of the door and through the halls of his division. It couldn't be true. Lisa, a person who he was willing to admit was one of his best friends was dead?

'_It can't be true! It just can't be!"_ he thought desperately. Lisa was a lieutenant; she couldn't be killed that easily.

He caught sight of Ikkaku and Yumichika as he ran out into the courtyard.

"Hey, there you are!" Ikkaku said with his usual battle-hungry grin. "You ready to get started or wh- "

Ikkaku stopped when Kenshin ran past the two of them with even sparing a glance and headed for the exit to the division.

"Hey, where ya going?" Ikkaku shouted.

"I wonder what has him going off in a rush…" Yumichika thought aloud.

"Whatever it is, it better be important enough for him to miss another training session," Ikkaku said in annoyance.

"Wait! Didn't Kenshin mention that one of his friends was the lieutenant of the Eighth Division?" Yumichika asked. Realization dawned on Ikkaku's face.

"I guess he didn't take the news too well."

Kenshin ran through the streets of the Seireitei. He ran by the Tenth Division barracks where he met up with Rangiku.

"You heard?" she asked knowingly, her eyes slightly red and puffy.

"I can't believe it. I have to see for myself!" he stated. He refused to accept what Yamamoto had said was the truth.

"Where are you going to go?"

"The Eighth Division," he said before taking off running again, Rangiku running close behind him.

The two ran to the Eighth Division as fast as there feet would carry them. They charged through the division courtyard and straight into the office building, not caring about what they were doing was wrong. Once they reached the door to the captain's office, Kenshin pounded on the door.

"Captain Kyoraku!" he shouted. The two waited until the door opened, revealing the flowery captain of the Eighth Division.

"What's this now?" he asked with a friendly smile. "And who, may ask, are you two?" he asked curiously.

"Is it true, Captain?" Kenshin asked. "Is Lisa… dead?" he uttered the last which tasted like vinegar as it left his mouth. Kyoraku's smile faded and he let out a sad sigh.

"Please come in," he said flatly and left the door open for them to enter.

"Please Captain!" Rangiku begged. "Lisa was our friend. We have to know the truth."

Kyoraku said nothing for a moment and looked at the worried faces of the two before him.

"Yes…Lisa is…gone," he said sadly.

His words cut like a knife through their hearts. Rangiku sunk to the floor, unable to hold her sobs back any longer. Kenshin wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her shoulder, trying to hide his tears as best he could.

Kenshin had hoped that it was all a bad dream and that he would wake up any moment and Lisa would still be alive and well, ready to taunt him on his height the second she saw him. Despite their bickering, Kenshin cared very much for Lisa; almost as much as he cared for Rangiku. He wasn't prepared for this at all. He had never dealt with the loss of a friend before. He felt so helpless and as he cradled his sister in his arms, he knew she felt just as bad as he did, if not worse. Kenshin then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Captain Kyoraku looking to him sympathetically.

"I'm sorry… truly I am. I never should have sent her out there," he said as he hung his head so that his hat obscured his face. Kenshin could tell he was doing his best to hide his tears as well.

"A token funeral will be held a couple of days from now," he said, his voice a little shaky. "You can attend if you like."

Kenshin nodded and gently picked his sister up off the floor.

"We're sorry for barging in, Captain," he said, bowing his head.

"Please, don't apologize; I understand," Shunsui said with a nod.

With that, Kenshin helped his sobbing sister out of the captain's office. On there way out of the division, Kenshin noticed a little girl that bore a rather striking resemblance to Lisa. She was clutching a large book to her chest and was crying. The fact that there were more people mourning Lisa's death only made Kenshin feel worse.

By the time they reached the entrance the division barracks, Rangiku had calmed down enough to the point where she could stand on her own.

"We should go see Gin," she said, her voice cracked. "I hope he's alright."

"Can you go by yourself?" Kenshin asked softly. "I…want to be alone."

Rangiku nodded and wrapped her arms tightly around him then planted a quick kiss on his cheek before leaving to find Gin.

Kenshin dragged his feet back to his division. The sun had disappeared behind a mass of rain clouds that expanded across the Seireitei. The quick approaching bad weather did not improve his mood; it seemed to complete this horrible day. By the time he made it back to his squad barracks, droplets of water had already begun to fall. Ikkaku and Yumichika were standing outside the doors to the main building.

"How ya feeling, kid?" Ikkaku asked first.

"I'm sure he's feeling terrible, Ikkaku," Yumichika chided. "Losing a friend is such an ugly thing to go through."

Kenshin ignored the both of them and walked into the building. To his chagrin they followed after him. At an intersection in the hallway, he ran into Kenpachi. The two stared at each other for a moment before Kenshin averted his gaze and moved past the giant.

"What's up with him?" Kenpachi asked curiously.

"He was friends with one of the lieutenants that was killed last night," Ikkaku informed.

"Huh… I was wondering what that meeting was about. Should've went to that thing; something that can take out four captains and four lieutenants is something I definitely would like to fight," Kenpachi said with a grin.

"You didn't go to the meeting?"

They all turned to see Kenshin had stopped walking, but kept his back to them.

"Nah, I didn't think it was too important," Kenpachi said with a bored tone. He didn't noticed Kenshin's hands ball into fists. "I just went back to sleep after the announcement was made."

Before anyone knew what was going on, Kenshin and ran towards Kenpachi grabbed him by his collar and slammed his fist into his captain's face. Ikkaku and Yumichika stood back in shock.

"You bastard," Kenshin growled. "Four captains and four lieutenants are dead and you don't even care!"

Kenpachi simply looked at him, unfazed.

"You could have gone out there with them!" he shouted. "You love fighting right? You could've gone out there and helped them! And then…" he said doing his best to keep his voice from cracking. "…and then my friend might still be alive!"

Ikkaku and Yumichika waited to see how there captain would react. For a while he just stared at Kenshin, who only glared back as he kept a firm hold on his captain's shihakushō. The next thing Kenshin knew, his captain's fist was driving into his stomach. The air was completely knocked out of him and before he could take a breath, the same fist that drove into his stomach slammed into his face and sent him to the ground.

"Captain!" Yumichika shouted in surprise.

Kenshin slowly pulled himself off the floor. He coughed up blood as he held his stomach in pain and threw a glare at his Captain.

"Listen kid, if you don't like the way I run my squad, you can leave," Kenpachi said coldly.

Ikkaku and Yumichika gasped and Kenshin stared at Kenpachi in shock. What surprised Kenshin the most was that he actually considered his Captain's words. He glared at Kenpachi, trying to hide the hurt in his face. Then, without another word, Kenshin ran down the hall and out of the division building.

"Captain, was that really a wise thing to say?" Yumichika asked curiously.

"What if he really leaves?" Ikkaku asked.

"You idiots, he won't leave," Kenpachi said confidently. "I said that to make the kid train harder."

"What?" the two of them asked, confused.

"That kid's been training for four years and he still ain't ready to fight me. He still hasn't learned his lesson either," Kenpachi grumbled. "Now, he'll definitely work harder."

"That _does_ make sense…" Ikkaku mused.

"Are you sure this will work?" Yumichika asked, skeptically.

"Don't worry, he'll be back," Kenpachi stated with a dismissive wave before returning to his office.

"You think he'll really come back," Yumichika asked his friend.

"Can't say. Guess well just wait and see," Ikkaku said.

The rain poured down hard onto the Seireitei streets. With the exception of a lone figure, the streets were deserted; no one wanted to be out in the deluge.

Kenshin didn't care that he was soaked to the bone as he trudged through the streets. He was freezing and wouldn't mind the warmth of his bed, but he refused to go back. His Captain had really broken him this time. Suddenly, he felt everything he worked for, all the hope he had was all for nothing. He thought back to what Lisa had said about him being due for some good luck. He didn't want to doubt her words, but given what had happened, his doubts were easy to succumb to. There was only one person that could help get through this. As if by instinct, his feet led him into the direction of that one person.

He walked up to the entrance to the Fourth Division barracks. He didn't know if Captain Unohana was even awake, but he had to try.

Retsu Unohana never minded the rain; sometimes she even found it soothing. It was also what made her flowers bloom so she welcomed this shower. She decided to relax and sit on the balcony outside her private quarters, the overhang kept the rain away from her seated form. She had let her hair down and removed her uniform in favor of more comfortable clothing. She was quietly sipping tea as she peacefully stared off into the distance. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed something odd. There was someone walking through the grounds of her division despite the rain. It didn't take her long to realize who it was and she quickly grabbed her umbrella and rushed out of her room and out onto the courtyard.

"Kenshin!" she called out as she ran across the courtyard through the rain.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly, placing a hand on his soaked shoulder.

"I…I didn't know where else to go," he said, his voice barely audible.

"Come," she ushered and gently led him out of the rain and into the building.

Once they were inside, Kenshin suddenly realized just how cold and wet he really was. He shuddered violently as he rubbed his hands along his arms, trying to warm himself up. Retsu noticed and quickly led him towards her room. On the way they encountered her Lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu.

"Captain Unohana, what's going on? Why is Kenshin here and what happened to him?" she asked once she noticed the boy's presence.

"Isane get some blankets and some fresh robes and bring them to my room, quickly," she ordered firmly yet gently. Isane nodded and hurried off to complete her task.

Once Kenshin was inside Retsu's room, she immediately began pushing him into her bathroom. As a medical expert, she knew that she had to get Kenshin out of his wet clothes quickly and get him warm. She ran the bathwater and Kenshin blushed when he realized what she was doing.

"Um… Captain I-"

"You have to get out the wet clothes, Kenshin" she interjected before he could protest."You'll catch a cold if you don't."

"B-But, I…" he stammered, nervously clutching at his wet shihakushō. A blush began to show on his face. Retsu realized what had him so embarrassed and left the room.

"I'll warm up some tea for you. Isane should be back with a change of clothes for you," she said before closing the door.

Even though he was alone, Kenshin still didn't feel any less embarrassed. He was standing in the middle of Captain Unohana's private bathroom and had been asked to remove his clothes and get into her bathtub! Still, he didn't want to be freezing cold any longer so he did as she said. He tossed his wet clothes into the nearby hamper and stepped into to the warm bath water.

The warm water was a welcome relief to Kenshin. He was no longer freezing and the heat of the water calmed his mind. The peace and quiet gave him time to think. He submerged himself completely underneath the water and thought back to how he wound up in this situation in the first place. Maybe he was out of line when he assaulted his Captain the way he did, but did the man have to be so callous? Even if he didn't know about how much Lisa's death meant to him, he still didn't have to act as though the death of several of his fellow captains meant absolutely nothing to him. He wondered if he should go back and apologize.

'_Do I even want to go back?'_ he wondered.

His Captaindidn't seem to want him around and probably didn't realize or care that he was gone. The more Kenshin thought about it, the more he wondered if he really made the right choice when he joined Squad Eleven. He could have joined any other Squad he wanted, other than the Fourth Squad. The only reason he joined the Eleventh Division was because he felt a kinship with its Captain after he learned that he couldn't speak with his zanpakutō. He began thinking that maybe that reason alone wasn't grounds for joining Squad Eleven and perhaps he should have given his decision more thought when he was applying for one of the Squads.

"Kenshin?" he heard his name being called. He pulled himself up from under the water and saw Isane standing in the door way.

"I have your clothes," she said.

"Thanks. Leave them there I'll be done in a minute."

Isane nodded and set the clothes before leaving Kenshin to dry off and dress. He wrapped himself in the warm white robes Isane left for him and stepped out of the bathroom. Captain Unohana was pouring cups of tea for both of them. She gestured for Kenshin to sit beside her and handed him his tea. Isane came up behind him and draped a blanket over his shoulders to keep him warm.

"Thank you Isane," Unohana said sweetly. "You may go to bed now."

Isane nodded and left the two of them alone. For a few moments there was silence between the two of them as they sipped their tea. Unohana was the first to break the silence.

"Kenshin, please tell me what you were doing out there in such weather," she asked kindly.

"I… just wanted to go for a walk," he lied. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Captain Unohana staring at him with an impassive face. He should have realized that he couldn't lie to her; she knew him to well.

"I wanted to get away from the Eleventh Division," he admitted with a sigh.

"Why?" Unohana pressed.

"It's… it's nothing," he stated. "I don't want to burden you Captain Unohana. You've done so much for me and I'm not even a part of this squad! I shouldn't have come here. I should go."

Before he could stand up, Captain Unohana had stepped behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"How many times have I told you, Kenshin?" she asked sweetly. "You can come to me for anything."

"But-," Kenshin tried to protest.

"Even though you are not a member of my squad, you are still very precious to me. I daresay, you've become much like a son to me, " she said as she hugged him a little tighter.

Her confession shook Kenshin to his core. The woman he had revered for so long had just told him that he was like a son to her. He had never had a mother, but whenever he was around Captain Unohana, it often felt like he did.

"Now please, tell me what is wrong," she asked once more. Kenshin turned his head and looked towards her. Those eyes and that smile…they got him every time.

"My friend is dead," he finally said.

"Lieutenant Yadomaru," Unohana stated knowingly. "Is that all?" she asked. Kenshin shook his head.

"Why didn't Captain Zaraki go to the meeting yesterday?" he asked, more to himself than to Unohana. "He could've have done something and maybe Lisa and the others would still be alive."

"You can't be sure of that, Kenshin," she said gently. "I do not doubt Captain Zaraki's strength, but I fear that there was little even he could do."

"I hit him," Kenshin continued. "I was so mad. He didn't think it was a big deal at all."

"It's alright, you were angry. I'm sure Captain Zaraki understands," she sad soothingly.

"No he doesn't. He said that if I didn't like they way he ran things then I should leave."

"Do you think you should leave?"

"I don't know… but for some reason, I feel like I don't belong there," Kenshin said solemnly. "Maybe I should leave."

"Well for now, you aren't going anywhere in this rain. I'll let you sleep in one of the spare rooms."

"I can stay?" Kenshin asked in shock.

"Of course," she said warmly. "You are always welcome here."

Kenshin smiled and leaned in Captain Unohana's embrace. His anger and sorrow was already forgotten and now he felt entirely content.

"Captain?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think… you could teach me Kido?"

"Why would you want to learn Kido?" she asked in surprise.

"So I can join this squad," Kenshin asked with a nervous tone. Unohana looked at him for a moment, her brow arched.

"Are you sure that is what you want?"

"I think it was a mistake to join the Eleventh Division. I don't seem to fit in there. I think I'd be happier here, being close to you," he said with a smile.

Unohana looked to him for a moment and smiled.

"I would be happy to teach you Kenshin, but first how about we try and resolve your problem with Captain Zaraki," she suggested. "Tomorrow we will both go see him and discuss this and if you are still sure about your decision, then I will teach all that I can so you may join my squad."

"Thank you, Captain Unohana."

After a moment of enjoying each other's company, Retsu brought Kenshin to a spare bedroom and bid him goodnight before returning to her private quarters. Kenshin fell asleep quickly, the days events having taken a toll on him.

When Kenshin awoke, instead of finding himself in his bedroom, he found himself in a place he hadn't seen in years. He instantly recognized the familiar fortress and quickly picked himself off the floor. He couldn't help but wonder why he wound up there; he hadn't attempted to contact his zanpakutō since his fourth year at the academy. He felt an all to familiar presence and turned to face the one he blamed for his lack of power.

"What do _you _want?" he asked his zanpakutō's spirit with disdain.

The spirit merely stared at him with those piercing red eyes before speaking.

"Pitiful…" he said with disgust.

"What?" Kenshin asked angrily.

"You choose to ignore my existence for years and now I find you even more lost than you were at the academy."

"Why would you care?" Kenshin snapped. "I wouldn't be this way if you would have lent me your power all those years ago."

"You are correct. You would have been weaker."

"Leave me alone!" Kenshin shouted and turned his back to the spirit. "The only time you speak to me is when you want to insult me."

The spirit only chuckled.

"You still continue to run away."

Kenshin looked back and glared at the spirit. He then marched up to it so there was only an inch of space between them and looked at it straight in the eye.

"I hate you. I don't ever want to speak to you again."

The spirit remained impassive as Kenshin walked away.

"If you keep running…soon you won't be able to," the spirit said solemnly, but Kenshin hadn't heard him and continued to walk away.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note****~ It has been months since I updated this story and I am not proud of that. But life in the real world sucks and I'm sure most of you would agree with this aggravating fact. My beta-reader and I have both been extremely busy; I took the semester off from college to find work and fanfiction had to take a back seat to trying to fill my wallet with beautiful green paper with dead president's on them. And no I still have no job and my wallet is empty.**

**Anyway, this chapter is done and I'm already over a thousand words into the next one, but since I'm working on other stories at the same time I'm working on this one who know when it'll be done. I'll try and get it out as soon as possible, especially since Nemu and Mayuri will be in the next chapter.**

**Also, you may notice a change in Kenpachi's speech in this chapter. It was my beta reader's suggestion and trust her completely.**

**DISCLAIMER~ Since I haven't done this in a while… Bleach is the property of Kubo-soutaicho. I own nothing except Kenshin Hogasha.**

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"Hey, Kenshin, wake up. It's time to train," Ikkaku said as he knocked on Kenshin's bedroom door. For several moments, there was no response which caused Ikkaku to frown in annoyance.

"Kenshin, wake up!" he said a little louder and pounded on the door. Again, no response.

Now Ikkaku was getting really annoyed. Kenshin had skipped his evening training the day before and then a full day of training yesterday. He wouldn't have any of it. His captain had ordered him to keep Kenshin training and that was what he intended to do.

"Alright, Kenshin, get up before I go in there and-"he was cut off when the door opened and slammed into his face, knocking him to the floor. Ikkaku got up quickly, prepared to retaliate for the surprise attack. "Not funny Kenshin..."not finishing his threat when he saw that the one who opened the door wasn't Kenshin, but Yachiru.

"Kenny-Two isn't here," she stated.

"What? What do you mean he's not here?" Ikkaku demanded.

"I came to see if he wanted to play with me, but his bed was empty," the tiny lieutenant explained.

"Didn't he come back yesterday?" he asked.

"Ikkaku, did you get him yet?" Yumichika asked, annoyed, as he walked up to the pair in the doorway.

"Yachiru says he's not here," Ikkaku answered.

"What? Maybe he took the Captain's words to heart?" Yumichika suggested.

"Well I guess we better go find him," Ikkaku said, irked he needed to find Kenshin. He sat up and headed for the courtyard with Yumichika and Yachiru in tow.

When they got outside, they came upon an unexpected sight: Captain Unohana walking through the courtyard towards the main building with Kenshin beside her. All the men in the Eleventh Division gave the Fourth Squad Captain a wide berth, mostly out of fear than respect. Unohana merely smiled at them all, which only unnerved the usually fearless squad members even more.

"Good morning Third Seat Madarame, Fifth Seat Ayesagawa," she greeted the two men.

"G-Good morning, Captain Unohana!" both men stammered nervously.

"I need to speak to Captain Zaraki. Would you please take me to him?" she asked sweetly.

Both me looked between each other before Yumichika spoke.

"Well you see, Captain Unohana, Captain Zaraki is rather busy at the moment and-"

"Can you please take me to him, Fifth Seat Ayesagawa?" Retsu asked, a little more sweetly.

Kenshin noticed that it was almost too sweet; he felt a chill creep over him. Ikkaku and Yumichika must have felt it as well; they backed away a bit and quickly agreed to show the Fourth Division Captain to their captain.

"Come, Kenshin," she said, her normal sweet tone returning. Kenshin nodded quickly and followed, still a bit shaken.

The two seated Officers led them through the halls of the Division. On the way, they ran into Yachiru, who immediately initiated her assault on Kenshin's head.

"Kenny-Two's back!" she shouted with glee and launched herself towards his head.

Kenshin, too distracted to evade her, was instantly smothered by her tiny body.

"Lieutenant Kusajishi, please let go of Kenshin's head," Retsu ordered softly.

Yachiru's ears perked up at the sound of the voice. She smiled at Retsu, whose presence she had yet to notice.

"Hiya, Braidy!" she greeted animatedly.

Finally, Kenshin pried Yachiru off his face and glared at her.

"What have I said about that?" he demanded.

Yachiru put her finger to her chin in thought and after several and unnecessary moments of seemingly contemplative thought, she smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't remember!"

"Of course you don't," Kenshin said with a sigh and set her down on the floor.

* * *

Kenpachi was annoyed.

He had been sitting by his office window for almost half an hour waiting for that kid to come out and train and he still hadn't shown up.

"That whelp better not have left," he grumbled to himself.

There was a knock at his door and he groaned in further annoyance.

"Who is it?" he growled.

"It's me, Captain," Ikkaku said, opening the door. Kenpachi noticed he looked a little nervous.

"Madarame? What're ya doin' here? Why aren't ya train' the kid?" he demanded.

"Well, you see Captain-" his sentence was cut short when Captain Unohana stepped passed him.

"Good morning, Captain Zaraki," she greeted pleasantly.

Kenpachi froze for a moment. What the heck was the Captain of the Fourth Division doing in his office? An answer came to him and he grinned ferally.

"Ya come here ta fight, Captain Unohana?" he asked excitedly.

"I am here on behalf of one of your subordinates," she answered.

"What? Who? Kenpachi asked in confusion.

Unohana looked behind her and gestured for someone to come forward. Kenpachi watched as Kenshin came out from behind her.

"What is he doin' here?" Kenpachi asked with a frown.

"Do you know where your subordinate was last night, Captain Zaraki?" Unohana asked calmly.

"He wasn't training, I know that much."

Kenshin only scowled. Retsu ignored Kenpachi's remark.

"He wandered into my division during last night's rain storm upset and hurt," she said. "He told me what you had said to him and I must say that I don't think giving him an ultimatum is a very good way to make him feel welcome."

"If he ran crying to you, then he _isn't_ welcome here," Kenpachi responded curtly.

Kenshin's hands balled into fists as he glared at his captain. Retsu ignored Kenpachi's rude comments, and kept her serene composure, although by the increased tension in the reiatsu around the room, he was beginning to try her seemingly inestimable patience.

"Captain Zaraki, last night Kenshin had informed me that he felt he did not belong here and requested that I teach him Kido so that he may join my squad," she revealed.

"HE WHAT?" Kenpachi shouted angrily, causing everyone in the room, except Captain Unohana, to take a fearful step back.

"I agreed," Retsu continued, "under the condition that if after speaking with you about this, he still felt sure about his decision."

"Take him!" Kenpachi said without pause. "If he can't handle bein' a man and wants to be weak for the rest of his life, then I ain't stoppin' him."

"That's not fair," Kenshin said the clenched teeth.

"Not fair?" Kenpachi asked with a frown as he came out from behind his desk to stand in front of Kenshin. "Listen, kid, I'm not here ta baby you like Cap'n Unohana."

"She doesn't baby me," Kenshin said defiantly.

"Oh really?" Kenpachi asked unconvinced. "Why did she confront me for you? If you were a man you would have sucked it up and kept up your trainin'."

"What for?" Kenshin demanded. "You won't let me go out on missions to kill Hollows, you don't promote me; what's the point of training?"

"You really are an idiot aren't ya?" Kenpachi said in frustration.

"Captain Zaraki, that is enough," Unohana said calmly, with a stern undertone, but Kenpachi ignored her.

"I've been pushin' ya all this time so ya won't wind up with another hole in your shoulder, but if you want to join the Fourth Division and lose any chance you have of gettin' stronger, then pack up your things and get out," he said with finality and turned away from Kenshin.

Before anything else could be said, Kenshin charged at the fight hungry captain. However, before he landed an attack, Kenpachi grabbed Kenshin by his shihakushō and then threw him over his head and out of his open office window. There were gasps from all but Kenpachi and Yachiru.

Despite his shock, Kenshin managed to pull himself together as he plummeted to the ground. He rolled as soon as his body connected with ground, and was on his feet quickly. He then withdrew his sword and pointed it at his soon-to-be former captain. Kenpachi looked at him with disinterest.

"Come down and fight me!" Kenshin furiously demanded. "Or are you afraid?"

Kenpachi grinned gleefully at that and lifted one foot onto the windowsill to jump. He was stopped when Captain Unohana grabbed his shoulder.

"This has gone far enough," she said with a stern tone.

"Not yet it hasn't," Kenpachi said and readied himself again for the jump.

"If you harm him, Captain Zaraki-" Retsu started.

"Relax. It's all part of the plan, remember?" he cut her off before he jumped out the window.

Retsu thought he was taking things a bit too far. But then again, she never asked him exactly what he was going to do to get Kenshin out of his slump when she sent him that hell butterfly last night.

'_He is playing this part rather well, too well come to think of it. But that is what Kenshin needs,' _she thought to herself.

She was pulled out her thoughts when she felt something tugging on her hakama. She looked down to see Yachiru smiling at her.

"Don't worry, Braidy," she said cheerfully. "Kenny likes Kenny-Two; he won't hurt him too bad."

"I know," Retsu said with a sigh, and looked out to the fight below.

Ikkaku and Yumichika ran through the division building, alerting everyone of the fight between Kenshin and Kenpachi. Soon the entire division was watching from a safe distance. No one wanted to be in Kenpachi Zaraki's way when he was fighting.

"I hope you can give me a good fight, kid," Kenpachi said as he drew his zanpakutō. "This blade's been getting rusty."

Kenshin only glared as his opponent and took up his stance.

"When this over, you'll see how much of a mistake it was to underestimate me," Kenshin said, boldly. Deep down, though, the thought of facing his captain with everyone watching terrified him.

"Is that so?" Kenpachi asked, amused by his supposed bravery.

"In that case, I'll let you make the first cut," he said with a smirk.

"You'll what?" Kenshin asked in surprise.

"Like I said, you can attack me first. Cut me anywhere ya like. Disembowel me, stab my heart, slit my throat, gouge out my eye if you want, just get over here and attack me!" he shouted excitedly.

Kenshin steeled himself.

With a battle cry, he charged at Kenpachi with his blade raised his blade. As soon as he was within reach of Zaraki, he swung his zanpakutō down as hard as he could.

Silence fell over the crowd as they waited for the results of the attack.

Blood splattered onto the ground between the two Soul Reapers. Everyone thought that Kenshin had succeeded in cutting the Captain. Upon further inspection they saw that the blood had not come from Kenpachi, but Kenshin's trembling hands.

Kenshin didn't know what happened. His sword had made contact with his captain's chest, but there was no wound on him, not even a scratch. Then he looked at his shaking hands. He was the one that was bleeding.

"H-How-"

"How come you didn't cut me?" Kenpachi asked for him.

Kenshin looked up to see the taller man's zanpakutō raised and then swiftly come down at him. With only a split second left, Kenshin dove out of the way of the attack. Kenpachi's blade collided into the ground with large boom. Dust and debris had exploded from the ground that the blade had hit, which was now nothing more than a crater.

'_That attack would have killed me!' _Kenshin thought.

This wasn't like their first fight. Kenpachi wasn't trying to gauge him, this was an all-out-brawl and Kenpachi didn't seem to have any qualms about cutting Kenshin in two.

"Looks like your training paid off," Kenpachi said as he lifted his sword out of the crater. "You're a lot faster than the first time we fought."

"How come you aren't bleeding" Kenshin asked.

"Cause ya didn't cut me," Kenpachi said, matter-of-factly, as he raised his sword for the next attack.

"I landed the blow! I came at you with everything I had, but I'm the one that ended up bleeding!" Kenshin replied, blocking the attack and jumping out of the way of he full force of the blow.

"Ya think ya landed the blow, but ya didn't," Kenpachi stated as he went after Kenshin. "It's 'cause I'm stronger than you," Kenpachi said with a smirk.

"What do you mean?"

"Your spiritual pressure is weaker than mine. It overwhelmed yours and weakened the strength of your attack. You may as well have been trying to cut down the walls of the Seireitei," Kenpachi explained.

Kenshin stiffened at that last part. Was his captain really that strong? Either way he would not back down. He said nothing and took up a defensive stance once more.

"Impressive," Kenpachi mused out loud as he looked critically at Kenshin. "You keep your body loose enough so it can react to any action. There are few openings I could take advantage of, but I'm guessin' you intentionally leave them open to draw your opponent in and finish them up close."

Kenshin looked surprise that Kenpachi had him read him so well.

"How did you-"

"Been watchin' ya for years, kid," Kenpachi said cutting across him again. "I was makin' sure ya were gettin' stronger and I have to say, I'm impressed with the results. But still, it's not enough."

Sparing no more words, Kenpachi charged at Kenshin with his sword coming in from the side. Kenshin moved his sword to his flank and blocked the strike. Kenshin could feel the bones in his arm vibrate from the impact before he was sent careening to the side by the sheer strength of Kenpachi's attack. He quickly regained his footing and resumed his stance.

He glanced down at his blade and noticed a crack. His eyes widened, shocked. The force behind his captain's blade was too much for his own. After a few more hits he wouldn't have a sword to fight with. It all seemed futile.

'_I can't give up!' _he thought. _'If I give in now, everything he said about me would have been true.'_

Kenshin stared down his opponent who only grinned and came at him again.

Kenpachi began a relentless assault of powerful strikes that, if they connected, would have most likely cut Kenshin in half. Fortunately, Kenshin was quick enough to avoid Kenpachi's zanpakutō. Instead of attacking, he was trying to find a weak spot or an opening on the raging monster before him. Still, something like that seemed impossible when he remembered how his first strike backfired on him. Even so, there had to be a way.

Kenpachi made another series of horizontal swings and Kenshin raised his zanpakutō and blocked the first two attacks. The force of the third swing caused the sword to go flying from Kenshin's hand across the courtyard leaving him weaponless. Kenpachi continued to grin in amusement and reared his arm back for deadly thrust aimed at Kenshin's chest. Thinking fast, Kenshin side-stepped the attack, the blade missing him by an inch, and quickly closed the gap between him and his captain. He wrapped his left arm around Kenpachi's outstretched right arm to keep him from attacking again and sent a right hook towards his face. The blow connected and Kenshin could hear a crunching sound. The pain in his hand told Kenshin that sound didn't come from Kenpachi, but from his hand. Kenshin winced in pain and jumped back from Kenpachi to nurse his limp injured hand. He tried to close his fist, but the searing pain kept him from doing so.

"How may finger's do you think you broke?" Kenpachi asked with a grin.

Kenshin only glared and tried to snap the bones in his hand back into place.

"You don't get to rest!" Kenpachi shouted as he charged at Kenshin again.

Ignoring the pain of his broken hand, Kenshin dived out of the way of Kenpachi's attack. He quickly looked around for his zanpakutō.

He finally spotted his zanpakutō and dashed towards it, not bothering to look back and see if Kenpachi was chasing him. Kenpachi was not too far behind and was already readying for a new barrage of attacks. Kenshin grabbed the handle of his zanpakutō, ignoring the painful crunch coming from his fingers, and turned to face Kenpachi, who was only inches away from him with his sword raised yet again.

The blade swung down.

The blow stuck the death knell to the already cracked zanpakutō, and most of the blade hit the ground with a clang. Kenshin stared wide-eyed in shock while Kenpachi's grin remained plastered to his face.

Kenshin just became aware that he was indeed cut by his captain. On his body was gash that stretched from his left shoulder to his right hip. Blood was flowing freely down his body and seeped into his torn uniform. He bit his lip to hold back his cry of agony as he fell to his knees.

Everyone looked on silently, as if watching the climatic conclusion to some grand show. Unohana however, had had enough.

"This has gotten out of hand," she said firmly from her view in Kenpachi's office.

She readied herself to jump out the window and stop the fight, but was stopped by Yachiru.

"You can't go down there, Braidy," she said. "Kenny's trying to teach Kenny-Two a lesson and he won't learn it if you stop the fight."

"I do not know how much more of a punishment Kenshin can take," Unohana stated, her tone void of the usual sweetness.

"Captain Unohana, the captain won't kill him," Yumichika began, "Captain Zaraki's methods are not those of other captains when trying to pull more power from the subordinates. He does care a great deal for Kenshin. All he wants is to help him grow."

"He's right, Captain," said Ikkaku. "It's nice of you to look out for the kid, but if you baby him, he won't learn anything."

Retsu considered their words. She didn't want to see Kenshin in pain any longer, however, she had to agree with the three of them. If she were to stop the fight, Kenshin's growth might stop then and there. As much as it pained her to do it, she decided to let the fight go on for a little longer.

Back in the courtyard, Kenshin was fighting through unbearable pain just to stand. It hurt just to breathe. He pressed his free hand to the wound and used the shredded remains of his shihakushō to try and staunch the bleeding. He looked at what was left of his zanpakutō. Only a small piece of the blade remained attached to the hilt.

It was over. His hands were bleeding, one was broken, he had a large gash on his torso, and now his weapon was useless. But, despite it all, he raised his broken blade to his Captain, refusing to give up.

Kenpachi looked at him with a frown and lowered his sword.

"Give it up, kid. You're not strong enough to beat me."

"Never!" Kenshin grunted out defiantly.

Kenpachi sighed, annoyed, and raised his free hand to his eye patch.

"Let me show you what you're really up against," he said and then lifted the eye patch ever so slightly.

Suddenly Kenshin felt an immense pressure; almost like going against the wind of a hurricane. It brought him to his knees and he had pressed his hands against the ground to keep his face from colliding with it. He couldn't even breathe anymore and his body felt incredibly heavy. It was like he was carrying the whole of the Seireitei of his back.

Feeling he got his point across, Kenpachi placed his eye patch back of his eye.

Kenshin felt the pressure leave his body and took in a much needed breath before vomiting. He started panting and barely had the energy to hold his body up anymore. He rolled to the side onto his back to keep himself from landing in the bile he had spewed.

He would never admit defeat out loud, but Kenshin knew he had lost.

"You disappoint me, kid," Kenpachi said flatly. "That was no fun for me at all." He sheathed his sword and turned to walk away. "When your wounds heal, come get your stuff and get out of my squad." And then he left.

Kenshin felt light-headed and welcomed his blackout. He wanted to wake up in the Fourth Division with a smiling Captain Unohana looking down at him and warm welcome into her squad. He let sleep take him.

* * *

Kenshin's eyes slowly opened and instead of seeing the usually pristine patient room of the Fourth Division hospital, he found himself in his inner world.

"Damn it…" he groaned and picked himself off the ground. "What am I doing h-" he cut his question short when he noticed the state of the fortress keep.

The walls were crumbling, the fortress towers were now rubble and fires could be seen everywhere. It looked as if a massive battle had occurred.

"What happened?" Kenshin asked out loud.

"A battle was fought and lost," said an all too familiar voice.

Kenshin frowned and turned to face the spirit of his zanpakutō.

"Why am I back here?" Kenshin demanded with a glare.

"I needed you to see this," it said gesturing to the destroyed fortress.

Kenshin glared fiercely at the spirit. He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to speak to the spirit. Still, deep down, the condition of his inner world had him worried.

"Why does it look like this?" he asked as calmly as he could.

You should know," it said his tone slightly condescending. "It was the force of the attack. You were there when it happened."

"What are you talking about?" Kenshin asked irately. "I wasn't here, I was fighting my captain."

"Exactly," the spirit said simply.

Kenshin raised a brow, but soon the wheels in his brain started turning and realization hit him.

"When my zanpakutō broke…" he thought out loud.

"That was only part of it."

Kenshin just looked at him, confused.

"You were utterly defeated physically and mentally by your opponent," the spirit explained, annoyed with Kenshin's lack of understanding. "This destruction is the result."

"It doesn't matter," Kenshin said with a sigh. "My time in the Eleventh Division is over. Once I wake up, I'll be in Squad Four and become member of Captain Unohana's Division."

"So you are just going to give up everything you had worked all these years for and run away?"

"What choice do I have?" Kenshin asked, annoyed. "I'm not wanted by my captain or you. Captain Unohana is the only one who cares about me."

"What proof do you have that neither I or your captain care about you?"

"You said it yourself all those years ago!"

"I said that you were not ready to know my name. Never once have I said I did not care about you," the spirit confessed.

"If you cared, then why don't you help me when I need you?" Kenshin snapped.

"You would not make good use of my power. You are so readily to throw yourself in harms way."

"What are you talking about?" Kenshin shouted. He was sick of how the spirit never gave him a simple answer.

"Do you remember years ago when you were just rabble from the Rukon District?"

Kenshin nodded.

"That gang… every time they attempted ill towards someone weaker then them, you took the blows. When the threatened your sister the day you met, you sent her away and allowed them hurt you in her stead."

"So what?" Kenshin asked with a frown.

"How about when you jumped in the way of that Hollow's attack a few years ago?"

"I was protecting my sister!" Kenshin growled angrily. "Would you prefer if had let her die?"

"What if you had died?" What then?" the spirit asked evenly.

Kenshin looked at the spirit, taken aback by his words. He opened his mouth to retort, but he found that he had none.

"How would you protect your sister if you were dead?" the spirit asked once more.

"…I don't know…" Kenshin muttered. "But what would you like me to do?"

"Stay alive," the spirit said simply. When Kenshin gave him a confused look he went on. "Protect everyone without throwing your life away. This is the lesson your captain and I had hoped you would learn."

"It can't be that simple," Kenshin responded.

"It can be if you are strong enough."

Kenshin considered the spirit's words. They sounded unbelievable, but a small part of him wanted to believe that it really could be that simple. And, the more he thought about it, the more he realized how much his sacrifice must have worried Rangiku. Then he wondered how much worse she would have been if he had died. He did not want to put her through that. As he contemplated this, the spirit's words slowly started to gain credence.

Then it all came together.

"I understand," Kenshin said, no longer angry. Instead he felt enlightened. "But, I can't do it alone," he admitted.

"I will help you," the spirit said, shocking Kenshin.

"Y-You will?"

"Yes. I can see it in your eyes; you understand. You have learned your lesson and are now ready. Use my power. Become a shield, an immovable force… a guardian spirit."

"I will," Kenshin stated with fire in his heart.

"Then call out my name!"

* * *

Retsu had finally had enough. She jumped out of Kenpachi's office window and quickly made her way to Kenshin's body.

Ikkaku, and Yumichika were morose because they had grown fond of Kenshin over the years and based on what they were seeing on the ground below, this would be Kenshn's last day in the Squad Eleven barracks. Yachiru was sad that she would lose her favorite playmate while Kenpachi was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to fight Kenshin again.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Kenshin's body began to hum with spiritual pressure. Ikkaku and Yumichika noticed that it was different from Kenshin's usual silver colored spiritual pressure; this one was black. It looked as if wisps of shadows were leaking from his body. Retsu also noticed that the spiritual pressure felt stronger despite Kenshin's broken form.

Kenpachi stopped walking and looked back at his defeated opponent with curiosity. Then he noticed, along with everyone else, Kenshin's body begin to twitch.

They all watched in awe as Kenshin slowly got up off the ground clutching his broken zanpakutō. He then took his stance and even more spiritual pressure poured from him.

"You don't know when to give up do you?" Kenpachi asked with an amused grin.

"I… won't… GIVE UP!" Kenshin shouted.

The black wisps of spiritual pressure became a giant black shadow. Everyone's awe turned to fear as piercing red eyes took shape within the black abyss. Kenpachi, however, only grew even more excited then before and drew his zanpakutō.

"Alright then, let's have some fun!" he said happily and then charged at Kenshin with his blade raised high.

Before the blade could make it's descent, Kenshin raised his broken sword.

"Guard, Kurorei no Tate!" he shouted.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Kenpachi's blade was deflected. Kenpachi jumped back and looked at Kenshin's new weapon.

Attached to Kenshin's forearm was now a black, teardrop-shaped shield that was almost as long as his body. The smooth and reflective surface shined in the afternoon sun and at the round top of the shield were three sharp arrow shaped spikes that were nearly a foot long.

"When did you learn your zanpakutō's name?" Kenpachi asked.

"Just now," Kenshin responded. "I finally learned my lesson."

"I guess ya have," Kenpachi said with a satisfied grin as he sheathed his sword. "Now get yourself to the Fourth Division and get healed up. I want ya back here tomorrow morning training with Ikkaku and Yumichika."

"What? B-But what about our fight?" Kenshin asked in disbelief.

"We'll fight again when you're at one hundred percent. Also, I want ya trainin' twice as long to make up for all the time you missed."

That's not fair!" Kenshin shouted angrily.

"Well the life of a Tenth Seat ain't fair is it?" Kenpachi asked with smirk.

"Tenth Seat?" Kenshin asked, his expression changing to one of surprise. "I'm… I'm getting promoted?"

"Yep. As of right now you're this squad's new Tenth Seat, so don't screw up," he said and then turned to leave.

Kenshin watched him walk away with a mixture of confusion, elation, and newfound sense of respect for his captain.

"My captain… he mused.

An hour ago he was ready to pack up and leave for the Fourth Division, but now, fighting under the command of Kenpachi Zaraki filled him with a sense of pride.

"Thank you, Captain Zaraki," he said loud enough for the man to hear.

Kenpachi only grunted in response before heading back inside his squad building. Kenshin smiled and sheathed his zanpakutō once it returned to its sealed state.

"I'm so proud of you," Retsu said as she came up behind him.

"Thank you, Captain Unohana," he said, turning to face her. "I'm sorry, but it looks like I won't be going to the Fourth Division after all."

"It is alright. This is where you belong," she said with a smile.

Kenshin nodded before passing out from exhaustion, a smile on his face as he fell to the ground.

* * *

**There you have it. Next chapter: Nemu finally shows up and this OCxNemu pairing will begin.**

**In case my update takes as long as I think it will… Happy Halloween everyone.**

**R&R**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note**~ **Just so you all know, this chapter has been done for a over a month. I was going to send it to my beta-reader, but they're tied with a chapter to one of my other stories and I got tired of waiting. Anyway, let me know what you think of the fight scene in this chapter. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in any previous chapters, but I'm not too good a writing fight scenes. I had my friend help me with this one and I think it turned much better than my first draft thanks to him. Don't be surprised if you see several typos; my keyboard is half-dead and I'm using one that doesn't respond unless you use a large amount of force. And Kenshin finally meets Nemu and Mayuri. I already have some big plans for these three characters especially Mayuri because I feel that his character is often under-appreciated. Also, I don't really know the layout of the Department of Research and Development, but I did give it a go so let me know what you think.**

**DISCLAIMER~ Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo. I only own my OC, Kenshin Hogasha.**

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* * *

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"Is that the best you can do?" Kenshin said with a laugh.

"Don't get cocky, kid," Ikkaku said with a smirk." I'm just warming up."

Ikkaku charged Kenshin with his zanpakutō in his right hand and his sheathe in his left. Kenshin stood his ground with his weapon held out in front of him in a defensive position waiting for Ikkaku to strike.

Ikkaku started by swinging his blade in a vertical arc, which Kenshin deflected. Ikkaku wasted no time in a second attack and swung his sheath towards Kenshin's side. Kenshin raised his free hand and grabbed hold of the sheath before it made contact. He then brought his foot up against Ikkaku's left arm, causing him to loosen his grip on his sheath. Kenshin ripped the sheath from Ikkaku's hand and swung it against his cranium. Ikkaku shouted in pain and stepped back, rubbing the already forming bruise on his head. Kenshin thought it was hysterical and couldn't help but laugh.

"You little punk!" Ikkaku shouted angrily.

"Your shiny head makes for a good target," Kenshin said with an innocent smile as he tossed Ikkaku's sheath back to him. Ikkaku scoffed.

"I guess becoming a Seventh Seat has made you smug."

"Not smug, just confident," Kenshin said as a matter-of-fact.

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Ikkaku chastised. "I'm the Third Seat for a reason. It took you over sixty years to get to where you are now."

"I know that, but someday I'll be even stronger and when that day comes… maybe this squad will have a new Third Seat," Kenshin said with a challenging smirk.

"Heh… then why don't you prove it right now?" Ikkaku challenged with a smirk of his own.

"Come at me then," Kenshin said, taking up his stance. Ikkaku's smirk widened as he charged again.

He dashed towards Kenshin at a much faster speed than before. Kenshin barely managed to raise his sword to block Ikkaku's overhead swing. The force behind Ikkaku's attack pressed both blades barely an inch away from Kenshin's face.

Kenshin grunted a he used all the strength he could muster to push Ikkaku away. Ikkaku retreated back and retook his stance. Kenshin knew that Ikkaku was being serious now and that toe-to-toe he still was no match for the Third Seat of the Squad Eleven.

Though Ikkaku may have been physically stronger, Kenshin's defensive capabilities were still greater and he had a gift for thinking on his feet and acting strategically. It was these talents that would be the tide turners of the spar.

Ikkaku closed the gap once more and made a horizontal slash at Kenshin's torso. Kenshin easily deflected the attack, but Ikkaku didn't let up. He quickly spun around and made another powerful horizontal swing. The force behind the attack caused Kenshin to skid back against the ground a few inches and sparks to fly as the blades grinded against each other.

"Excellent defense!" Ikkaku commented. "Let's see how long you can keep it up!" He the swung his sword overhead and his sheathe horizontally at the same time. Kenshin used his zanpakutō to block Ikkaku's blade and quickly jumped into the air and brought his foot down on Ikkaku's sheathe and buried it into the ground.

Ikkaku grunted in annoyance and dropped back before charging again, swinging both sheathe and sword wildly. It took all of Kenshin's strength to block the strikes with his blade, the force behind each attack causing him to step back with every blow. If he didn't think of something soon, he would no longer have the strength to block any of Ikkaku's attacks. He started to pay close attention to kkaku's movements and then an idea formed. He noticed that after every two swings, Ikkaku left his right side wide open for just a second. After the next two strikes Kenshin deflected Ikkaku's blade to the left and then swung his left leg into Ikkaku's ribs. Ikkaku hissed in pain and stepped back to nurse his ribs. Kenshin wasn't doing much better. His arms were aching terribly from Ikkaku's attacks.

Ikkaku picked up his sheathe and gave Kenshin an approving smile.

"Not bad. You actually managed to hurt me a little; I'm impressed. Maybe it's time we took this up a notch?"

"If you think you can," Kenshin said with a smirk.

"Alright then!" Ikkaku said excitedly as he slammed the pommel of his sword into his sheath. "Extend, Hozukimaru!" He shouted and then the two weapons formed a long spear with razor sharp blade and crimson tassel on the blunt end. Kenshin felt a sense of pride as he gazed at Ikkaku's shikai. Ikkaku only released it when Kenshin had proved he was strong enough.

Soon after Ikkaku had called forth his zanpakutō, he jumped into the air and swung Hozukimaru down with all his strength. Kenshin raised his sword to his face, parallel to the ground.

"Guard, Kurorei no Tate!"

Kenshin's zanpakutō transformed, in a shadow of black spiritual pressure, into tear-shaped full-body shield. The three round spikes protruding from the rounded top looked as sharp and dangerous as ever. The smooth black surface shined brightly in the morning sun.

A loud clang sounded through the squad courtyard as Hozukimaru collided against Kurorei no Tate. Kenshin pushed up against Ikkaku's weapon and knocked him back. Ikkaku landed gracefully on his feet a couple of yards away from Kenshin and examined Hozukimaru. He noticed the edge of the blade had a small chip in it from where it made contact with Kurorei no Tate.

Unfortunately, taking his eyes off of Kenshin for that one second left Ikkaku wide open. The next he knew, Kenshin was barreling into Ikkaku with his zanpakutō. The large shield knocked the wind right out of the Third Seat and laid him flat on his back with a thud.

"What have you always told me?" Kenshin asked with a smirk. "Never take your eyes off of your opponent?"

Ikkaku smirked back and swung Hozukimaru at Kenshin's legs, sending Kenshin to the ground with him. He then quickly stood up and placed the tip of his spear to Kenshin's neck.

"I've also said never to let your guard down until the fight is over!" Ikkaku said triumphantly. Kenshin only grumbled in annoyance. Ikkaku had won the spar once again. He removed Hozukimaru from Kenshin's neck and helped him up.

"I guess I do let my confidence get in the way sometimes…" Kenshin admitted, albeit reluctantly.

"Good, now that you've learned your lesson, lets go again," Ikkaku said, cracking his neck.

"Alright," Kenshin conceded with a roll of his shoulders.

"Kenny-Two!" called out Yachiru who had been watching the spar on the sidelines with Yumichika. "You can't fight with Baldy anymore. You have to see Braidy now."

"Oh!" Realization hit Kenshin. Captain Unohana had asked him to go to the Fourth Division today for a routine check-up. He was the only one in his division that was brave to visit the Fourth Squad captain once a month for a standard physical.

"Sorry, Ikkaku, we'll have to do this some other time," he said as his zanpakutō returned to its sealed state and sheathe.

"Fine," Ikkaku said with a grunt. "But I want you back here as soon as you're done. We got a new recruit coming today and the captain wants us to give him a Squad Eleven welcome."

"Alright, I got it," Kenshin said as he walked away. Yachiru ran up to him and jumped onto his shoulder.

"Let's go visit Braidy, Kenny-Two!" she said cheerily.

"Why are _you_ coming?" he asked as they left the courtyard leaving Ikkaku and Yumichika to talk freely amongst themselves.

"Well, he's certainly not the same boy we brought home from the academy," Yumichika began.

"No he's not," Ikkaku nodded his head in agreement, "but he still has a ways to go."

It was true; Kenshin had changed much since his indoctrination into the Eleventh Division. He had grown a few inches in the last sixty years; enough to stop Rangiku's teasing anyway, though she was still taller than him. His once fit body had now become much leaner and a little more muscular. His hair had grown an inch or two, nearly reaching the middle of his back and was much less wild due to Yumichika's incessant nagging about how much more beautiful it would be if took better care of it. He had removed the sleeves of his shihakushō to allow quicker movement and he had taken to wearing cloth bracers and greaves to help augment his defensive fighting style.

After Captain Zaraki had made him a Tenth Seat all those years ago, he was allowed to go on missions again and was eligible for further promotions. As the years went by he had proven himself time and time again against the Seated officers of his Division, taking their positions after he had defeated them in front of the entire Division until recently when he was made a Sixth Seat. Everyday he trained in order to one day fill the vacant Fourth Seat position and also to eventually obtain bankai.

His relationship with Captain Zaraki had improved significantly as well. Ever since he had learned shikai, his captain had stopped treating him with neglect and indifference. It didn't change the fact, however, that his progress still wasn't enough for the battle-hungry captain of Squad Eleven. Kenpachi believed that, despite his current strength, Kenshin could be much stronger and he expected a rematch to their last fight all those years ago. Kenshin, for one, eagerly awaited that day.

* * *

"Say 'ahh'," Retsu Unohana said.

Kenshin did as she said and opened his mouth for her. Unohana shined a light into his mouth and thoroughly inspected it. Once she was satisfied, she had him close it.

"Have you been eating right, Kenshin?" she asked in her motherly tone.

"Yes ma'am," Kenshin answered honestly.

"Good," she said with a pleased smile as she grabbed his wrist to check his pulse. Her lips curved into a small frown."Kenshin, you haven't been resting properly."

"Ikkaku and have been training a bit longer this week," Kenshin answered.

"How long did you sleep last night?" she asked, taking a closer look at his eyes and noticing the light gray rings around them.

"Three hours... maybe," Kenshin answered, averting his eyes from Unohana's in shame.

"Well that simply will not do," she said, her voice firm. "Tonight, I want you in bed early and to get at least eight hours of sleep."

"But Ikkaku and are supposed to tr-"he stopped short when he saw the look Retsu gave him.

She was smiling, but it wasn't her usual smile that made Kenshin happy. This was a smile Kenshin had learned to fear over time.

"Kenshin, you must go to bed early and get at least eight hours of sleep," she said, her tone much sweeter than usual. Kenshin knew it was best not to argue with her when she smiled and spoke like that at the same time.

"Yes ma'am. I promise," he said through a forced smile, his voice shaky.

"Good. Now, I know how much you hate it, Kenshin, but this for your health," she said as she held up a needle.

Kenshin stiffened at the sight. He had fought Hollows three times his size, fought almost everyone in his squad, and fought Kenpachi Zaraki and lived to tell the tale. He would rather do all those things again, than receive another needle.

"I-I think I'm healthy enough, Captain Unohana," he stammered nervously.

"Don't be afraid Kenny-Two!" Yachiru, who had been sitting quietly on one of the hospital beds, shouted. She jumped up and grabbed the needle. "It's only a little needle," she said grinning from ear to ear as she came towards Kenshin with the needle. Kenshin's eyes widened in fear.

"No, not you! GET AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted and bolted from his seat.

"Hold still!" Yachiru giggled as she chased him around the room.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"What on earth is going on?" Isane asked, bursting through the door with concern. Her brow creased as she beheld the sight before her.

"That is quite enough, Lieutenant Kusajishi," Retsu stated as she snatched the needle from Yachiru's hand. "You must not run with such sharp objects; it's dangerous."

Even with Yachiru subdued, Kenshin was still in a panic. He ran towards the window and prepared to jump.

"Isane, hold him," Retsu ordered. Isane nodded and pulled Kenshin away from the window.

"You must calm down, Kenshin," she said as she restrained him. Kenshin still thrashed about like a frightened child.

He finally calmed down when Unohana placed a hand on his cheek and gave him his favorite motherly smile.

"Just close your eyes and it will be over before you know it."

Kenshin did as he was told and squeezed his eyes shut. Isane held his arm out and Retsu gently placed the needle into his bicep. Kenshin flinched visibly and Retsu pulled it out as quickly as she could. With a smile, she leaned in and kissed his forehead.

"It's over," she whispered.

Kenshin opened his eyes and Isane released her hold on him.

"I apologize for my behavior," he said, hanging his head to hide his embarrassment.

"It's alright," Unohana said with a smile. "Just remember, it only hurts for a second. And Lieutenant Kusajishi, next time it would help if you weren't present," she said as politely as she could.

"Okay!" Yachiru said with a thumbs up.

"Now, Kenshin, I want you to see me again next month for another checkup and, if you can, try and convince Captain Zaraki to come in for a physical; he's long past due."

"I'll try, Captain," he said with a smile.

Isane was about to close the window Kenshin tried to escape through when a black butterfly flew through it, a small trail of reishi flowing behind it. The small creature searched for the spiritual pressure it was sent to seek out and then landed on Kenshin's shoulder. Even though the creature only emitted a ringing sound, the message could be heard quite clearly.

"Is your Captain looking for you?" Unohana asked curiously.

"No, it's from Squad Twelve," Kenshin said as the Hell Butterfly flew off. "I put in a request for them to build something for me a while ago. They finally finished it and want me to go pick it up."

"But, Kenny-Two, Baldy said you have to help beat up the new guys," Yachiru reminded him.

"I'll be there, don't worry. This won't take long. I'll see you soon Captain, Unohana."

"Be careful Kenshin. The captain of Squad Twelve is… different," she said choosing her words carefully.

Kenshin nodded and hurried toward the Twelfth Squad barracks.

"Captain Unohana, should you really have let him go alone?" Isane asked with concern.

"He will be fine, Isane. He's not a child anymore," Unohana said with a reassuring smile.

Deep down, however, she was uneasy. She knew what kind of man the captain of Squad Twelve was and while she did not question his skills or capabilities as a captain, she did question his ethics. Though she wouldn't say such a thing out loud, if Mayuri Kurotsuchi did anything to Kenshin, he would have to deal with her.

* * *

Kenshin wandered through the Squad Twelve barracks. He and Yachiru parted ways a while ago after she declared that she was bored. He had a hard time finding anyone that would help him; there weren't many Soul Reapers running about.

Finally, he found a large building; larger than his own division headquarters. There had to be someone inside that could help him.

When he stepped inside, he found himself in a long hallway. He called out for someone but no one answered. He was wondering if there were even any Soul Reapers in this division at all. He walked further down the hall towards a set of double doors. Past the doors is where he found the first sign of activity in the entire squad.

In the next room he found Soul Reapers moving about across the entire room. Some wore the standard uniform, but others wore right robes that he had never seen before. They were also at least a hundred different kinds of machines in the room and every Soul Reaper was heavily engrossed in them and whatever it was they were used for. Some machines had giant liquid-filled tubes with Hollows inside of them while others created some of the basic devices used by Soul Reapers like soul phones and those memory replacement devices.

He was fascinated by all the goings on at first, but then he quickly remembered why he was there in the first place. He began asking random members of the division for help, but they either ignored him or rudely told him to get lost when he told them which division he had come from.

He started to feel that the entire trip was useless as he walked into the next room. There were fewer people in this one. They all seemed to be working on computers. He noticed from some of the screens that some of them managed communication with Soul Reapers traveling through the Precipice World and some that were on missions to the world of the living.

"Excuse me?" he heard a soft melodic voice ask. The voice sent a chill up his spine, but not the kind associated with fear. The only other person with a voice that gave him this feeling was Captain Unohana. He turned to see the person who had caused him to feel this way and his heart immediately began an attempt to beat its way through his ribcage.

She had pale, creamy white skin and dark hair that was tied up in a braid behind her. Her face was soft and expressionless. She wore a red choker and white bracers on her arms and a variation of the Soul Reaper uniform that showed off a more than reasonable amount of creamy white well-toned legs. But the thing about her that shook Kenshin the most was her eyes. They were a deep emerald green, but that wasn't what he noticed. He noticed that they seemed…almost lifeless and sad. Kenshin couldn't deny she was beautiful, but the Soul Society was full of beautiful girls so why did this one cause his heart to beat so fast jut by looking at her.

"Sir?" she asked once more and that soft yet monotone voice.

"Huh? Oh!" Kenshin stuttered. "I'm here to pick up an order I'll placed in about a month ago. I got a message earlier that it was completed and to come and get it."

"And your name?" she asked looking at the clipboard she had been carrying.

"Seventh Seat Kenshin Hogasha of Squad Eleven," he answered trying to sound as official as possible.

"Oh," she said noticing the small footnote that been stuck across a thin stack of documents. "Yes, please follow me," she said before walking out of the room. Kenshin followed her, almost too eagerly he noticed.

They walked in silence the whole time. Kenshin kept glancing at her through the corner of his eye while she kept looking straight forward, seemingly unaware of his presence. Kenshin swore it was silent enough that he could hear how loud and how fast his heart was beating every time his eyes fell on her. He felt like he should say something, anything.

"Er… thank you for helping me," he said lamely.

"You are welcome," she answered simply.

Well that wasn't much. He decided to try again and then he noticed the badge tied around her left arm.

"May I ask your name, Lieutenant?"

"My name is Nemu Kurotsuchi and I am Lieutenant of the Twelfth Division and Vice-President of the Department of Research and Development."

"And where are we going Lieutenant Kurotsuchi?"

"To Master Mayuri's lab. It is where I left your order," she responded.

The two came to a door that had a small sign hanging from the doorknob that read "Enter and Die".

"Should you really open that?" Kenshin asked with concern as she reached for the doorknob.

"It is alright," was all she said before opening the door and quickly ducking to the ground.

Kenshin drew his sword quick as a flash and deflected the bladed projectile that flew from the room straight towards his face. The weapon embedded itself a few meters away in the wall on Kenshin's right.

"My apologies; I forgot to warn you," Nemu stated as she stood back up.

"It's…alright…I guess," Kenshin said with a raised brow as he sheathed his zanpakutō and followed Nemu into the room.

The room was full of more equipment that was much odder, abstract, and frightening than the equipment in the other rooms he had seen. The room was also quite dark with the only source of light coming from a giant computer screen a couple of meters off to Kenshin's right. He could see a figure sitting in front of the giant screen typing away at a keyboard.

"Master Mayuri," Nemu began, "the Soul Reaper whose order you had completed is here."

The figure had stopped typing and Kenshin heard him let out a sigh of annoyance.

"You interrupt me from my work just to tell me that, Nemu!" the figure growled as he stood from his chair.

"My apologies, sir," Nemu said with a bow.

The figure moved to the wall to flick a switch and the ceiling lights brightened up the room giving Kenshin a better look at the man. He almost shouted with fright at the man's visage.

The man had a very skeletal appearance due to his thin body which was pure white. Most of his face was covered in black makeup apart from his nose. Three golden cone-shaped objects protruded from his chin and where both of his ears were supposed to be. On his head he wore the oddest looking hat Kenshin had ever seen. The upper row of his teeth were visible and he was frowning. What had scared Kenshin, the most were the man's eyes. Unlike Nemu's emerald ones, his were golden and while Nemu's contained emptiness, his contained something darker…something like madness.

Upon noticing the haori the man was wearing, Kenshin realized that he was facing the captain of Squad Twelve. Captain Unohana had said he was different, but Kenshin thought the more appropriate term was "horrifying".

"And who might you be?" the man, Mayuri, had snapped at Kenshin.

"Um… my name is Kenshin Hogasha, sir," Kenshin said straightening himself up and putting his fear aside. "I am the Seventh Seat of Squad Eleven."

"Squad Eleven?" the man asked, spitting the words out as if they were something foul. "What would someone from that squad of imbecilic gorillas be doing in my lab?"

"He has come to pick up an order he had placed with us a month ago, Master Mayuri," Nemu stated, handing her captain the footnote on her clipboard. Mayuri snatched from Nemu's hand and quickly read it over.

"You couldn't simply deliver it to him yourself, Nemu, you incompetent dullard! You had to bring him here!" he shouted. Nemu merely hung her head in shame and gave a quick apology.

"It's not her fault, Captain," Kenshin stated quickly. "I was lost; I couldn't find anyone that would help me. Lieutenant Kurotsuchi found me and led me through the building."

"Hmph!" Mayuri huffed condescendingly. "Such is to be expected from a member of Squad Eleven," he said as he walked away from the two and toward a lab table that had a box laid out on top.

Kenshin glared at the man's back. He had only just met this man and he already found himself disliking him. He had callously insulted him and his lieutenant and had demeaned his squad twice now.

"You, however, surprise me," Mayuri stated as he took the box from the table and brought it to Nemu to hold. "I would not expect someone from Zaraki's band of monkeys to place an order for something like this."

Nemu removed the lid from the box and revealed the contents to Kenshin. Inside was a set of beautifully crafted light gold metal grieves and bracers. The surface of the armor was polished enough for Kenshin to see a perfect reflection of himself.

"Wow," was all Kenshin could say.

"Just the reaction I expected," Mayuri said with a disappointed sigh.

"The armor is made of a refined metal alloy that is harder than most zanpakutō steel, yet as light as cotton," Nemu explained. "Once wearing it, you should feel no real change in your fighting style, however that may be," she said as she handed him the box.

"Thank you," Kenshin said gratefully.

"A word of caution, boy," Mayuri said. "That armor is not indestructible. A strong enough attack will cause it to shatter. When that happens, return it here and it will be repaired."

"Yes, sir."

"Though, since you are a member of Squad Eleven, I'm sure you'll be back by tomorrow," he said mockingly. "Now, Nemu, make yourself useful and get him out of my lab!"

"Yes, Master Mayuri," Nemu replied obediently. "Please, follow me, Seventh Seat Hogasha."

Kenshin was more than happy to leave the room. He had not known what to expect from the captain of Squad Twelve, but it certainly was not that.

"Is he always like that?" Kenshin asked as he and Nemu walked through the halls.

"Like what?" Nemu asked.

"Um…unfriendly?" Kenshin said, choosing his words carefully.

"Master Mayuri just does not like to be distracted from his work," Nemu explained.

"Why do you call him 'Master'?" Kenshin asked curiously.

"Master and Captain have similar meanings do they not?"

"I just mean that it makes your relationship kind of seem more personal."

"A Lieutenant can not have a personal relationship with his or her captain?"

Kenshin noticed she appeared to be a little uncomfortable with his question. Was her relationship with her captain closer than he realized. She seemed to young to be his lover, but then again, he was a very bizarre man.

"What's your captain's name?" he asked.

"Mayuri Kurotsuchi," she answered without looking at him and quickening her pace slightly.

"Kurotsuchi?" Then it suddenly hit him like a punch from his captain. "You're his daughter?" he asked, shock evident in his voice, as he caught up to her.

"The exit is straight ahead past this door," she said without meeting his gaze. "I am sorry, but I have work to do, if you will excuse me," she said and began fast walking back where they had come from.

"How can you let him talk to you like that?" Kenshin asked her retreating form. He knew that this was none of his business, but he couldn't help but be concerned.

"Master Mayuri has the right to speak to me however he wants to," she said before turning down another hall.

Kenshin stared at the spot where he had last seen her. He had been tempted to follow her and find out more about her and why her captain and father had walked all over her in front of him. Then he remembered that he was just a Seventh Seat; he had no right to dig into their lives. With a sigh of defeat, he left the building and returned to his squad barracks.

* * *

At the Squad Eleven barracks, Ikkaku was wandering through the squad dorms towards Kenshin's room. The little punk had been back at the division for two hours and didn't even bother to tell him.

"Kenshin!" he shouted as he all but threw the door open. "Come on, everyone's waiting for you!"

"I'll be there in a minute," the Seventh Seat said as finished tying his new greaves to his legs.

"Where'd you get those?" Ikkaku asked curiously.

"Squad Twelve," Kenshin answered as he slid the bracers onto his forearms. Nemu was right; it really did feel light.

"You actually went to Squad Twelve by yourself?" Ikkaku asked in surprise.

"And I'm sure you can guess who I met there." Ikkaku chucked at that.

"Freak ain't he?"

"Monster is the word I'd use," Kenshin said as he tied down his second bracer.

"I hear he uses his own men for his crazy experiments," Ikkaku said. "The closer you get to that place at night, the better you can hear the screams."

"Joy," Kenshin said dryly as he stood and walked with Ikkaku out of the room. "What about his lieutenant?"

"What about her?"

"What's her story?" Kenshin clarified.

"How the hell should I know," Ikkaku said with a shrug. "Yachiru says she never talks at the Lieutenants meetings and that she never smiles."

"Did she say anything about her Captain walking all over her?" Kenshin asked.

"Literally or figuratively?" Ikkaku asked with dry laugh.

"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked, coming to a halt in the hallway. Ikkaku sighed and rubbed the space between his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger.

"Look, it's none of my business, but I hear he does more than just call her names. I wouldn't be surprised he did anything less than use her as a pincushion."

"What?" Kenshin asked, visibly horrified. Ikkaku didn't seem to notice.

"Come on, we've wasted enough time," he said, shoving Kenshin along with him.

They walked into the squad meeting room; the same room where Kenshin had been officially indoctrinated over half a century ago. Every member of the division was there. Yumichika stood beside a young man Kenshin assumed was the new recruit. He laughed at the man's choice of tattoos and strange hair that reminded him of a pineapple. Everyone was laughing and having a good time until Kenpachi burst into the room with Yachiru on his shoulder.

"Is he here?" he asked.

"Right here, Captain" Yumichika gestured to the pineapple man.

"My name is Renji Abarai. I'm honored to be here sir," he said excitedly.

"Good to know, kid," Kenpachi said without a hint of interest. Kenshin felt envious. He could tell by his captain's tone that he had no interest in fighting this young man.

"Hey, Kenshin where are ya!" Kenpachi shouted.

"Right here, sir," Kenshin said stepping forward.

"Nice toys you got there," Kenpachi remarked at Kenshin's armor. "Give the new guy a proper welcome," he a said with a smirk.

"Whatever you say, sir," Kenshin said with a mock salute as he stepped into the center of the room with Renji.

All the members of the division cheered Kenshin's name as he faced the new recruit. Kenshin felt a great sense of pride. This was what he needed to take his mind off of Nemu and the Twelfth Division…at least for the moment.

"Your name's Renji, right?" Kenshin asked as he checked his bracers.

"That's right," the pineapple head replied.

"Well, Renji, nothing personal, but I think I'll leave you bleeding," he said with a smirk that would have made his captain proud. The man was really starting to becoming a bad influence.

* * *

**The next chapter is about half-wayf done. I'll try and get it out as soon as possible. Happy New Year everyone!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note****~ finally an update! I apologize for taking so long; at lot has happened that kept me away and if you want the details, you can check out my profile.**

**Thanks are due to my beta, Whitecloud, for helping with this chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER~ I do not own Bleach at all other than my OC, Kenshin Hogasha.**

* * *

Kenshin let out a yawn as he walked through the hall. He hadn't slept much last night; he was plagued by what Ikkaku had told him about Captain Kurotsuchi and his lieutenant. His thoughts were also on Nemu herself.

Nemu…Kenshin pondered why she was on his mind so much. It had only been a day, but Kenshin could not get her out of his mind. Kenshin had thought about women before, in fact quite a few had pursued him since his promotion to a seated officer. But those women didn't stay on Kenshin's mind for long due to his devotion to rising further through the ranks of Squad Eleven and none had kept him up until the late hours of the night like Nemu had. He couldn't get his mind off her pale skin, her soft voice, and especially her emerald eyes. Then he thought about her captain/father and the way he spoke to her. What kind of father would talk to his child that way? And what if what Ikkaku said was true; what if he was also physically abusing her?

He felt the need to talk to someone about it, someone with more information than Ikkaku or Yachiru would provide. Thus, he found himself outside his captain's office, knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" asked Kenpachi in an annoyed tone.

"It's Kenshin," he answered.

The door was opened a couple of seconds later by Yachiru who immediately made a jump for Kenshin. The Seventh Seat anticipated the action and quickly stepped to the side allowing the tiny lieutenant to rocket past him.

"Good job," Kenpachi commented. "I was wondering if you'd dodge her this time."

"I've been here long enough to figure her out," Kenshin responded.

Suddenly he felt a tiny foot connect with the back of his head and then he saw the floor coming towards his face. He hit the wooden floor face first and Yachiru jumped off the back of his head with a giggle.

"I stand corrected," Kenshin muttered into the floor.

"But you're not standing, silly!" Yachiru exclaimed from atop Kenpachi's desk.

"I hate you," he replied.

"Relax, kid, and get off the floor," Kenpachi said from his seat by the window after he stopped his laughing. "What do you want? Why aren't you training?"

"Captain Unohana told me to get more rest," Kenshin answered as he dusted himself off.

"And what if I gave you an order to train?" Kenpachi inquired.

"I'd say I'm more afraid of disobeying Captain Unohana than you, Captain Zaraki," Kenshin rebutted.

"Fair enough," Kenpachi said with a shrug. "But why do you look like you haven't been doing as she said?"

"I couldn't sleep; I've had some things on my mind. I was hoping I could talk to you about it, sir."

"I ain't a therapist, kid. You got problems, go see Captain Unohana," Kenpachi said dismissively.

"Not those kinds of things!" Kenshin rebuked. "I want to know some things about Squad Twelve."

Kenpachi visibly tensed up and gave Kenshin a scrutinizing look.

"I hope you're not thinking about joining them," he said with a light glare.

"My place is here, Captain," Kenshin said, not faltering under his captain's gaze. His answer seemed to satisfy Kenpachi.

"Well why do ya wanna know then?" Kenpachi asked curiously.

"When I went there to get my armor yesterday, I picked it up directly from the Captain," Kenshin explained. Kenpachi snorted.

"Kurotsuchi… what do ya wanna know about that freak?"

"Anything you can tell me."

"There isn't much kid," Kenpachi said with a sigh. "I don't like the guy, I can tell ya that much."

"How long has he been a Captain?"

"Around fifty years or so," Kenpachi answered.

"Why is he so…?" Kenshin began trying to find the right word.

"Psychotic? I don't know, kid. The guy is supposed to be a genius. Heh, I say he's crazy."

"What about his lieutenant?" Kenshin asked. This was the question he really wanted an answer to.

"What about her?" Kenpachi asked curiously.

"She seems… off. I've never seen someone show so little emotion."

"Yachiru could probably tell you more about her; she's the one that goes to all the Lieutenant meetings."

"Do you know anything about her captain abusing her?"

"Yachiru told me once that he threatened to pull her apart."

Kenshin took all the information in. He had hoped what Ikkaku had told him might have just been a rumor, but if Yachiru was saying the same thing, then just might have been true.

"Thank you, Captain," Kenshin said and then turned to leave.

"Don't mention it kid," he heard Kenpachi say as he opened the door.

"Oh, there's something else, Captain!" Kenshin said in realization. "I forgot to tell you yesterday; Captain Unohana wants you to come in for a physical."

"Why?" Kenpachi asked.

"She says you're overdue," Kenshin replied.

"I'll go when I feel like it," Kenpachi scoffed. Kenshin only shrugged and then left the office.

His captain had answered some questions, but not enough to satisfy Kenshin. He wanted to know everything he possibly could about Squad Twelve and, more importantly, Nemu Kurotsuchi.

There was still one more person he could see, someone much more informed than Kenpachi. With haste, he made his way to the Fourth Division.

* * *

"Captain Unohana, Kenshin's here," Isane announced as she entered her superior's office. Retsu immediately perked up at the sound of Kenshin's name.

"Please, send him in, Isane," she said with a smile. Her lieutenant nodded and let the boy into her captain's office.

"Good morning, Captain Unohana," Kenshin greeted.

"Good morning. Please, sit down Kenshin," she said, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk. The young man thanked her and sat down.

"Shall I make some tea, Captain Unohana?" Isane offered.

"Thank you, Isane, that would be lovely," her captain responded. The lieutenant left the room and set off to provide nourishment for her commanding officer and her guest.

"So what brings you here, Kenshin," Captain Unohana asked sweetly. She then noticed the light rings around Kenshin's eyes.

"Did you get eight hours of sleep like I instructed?"

"I'm sorry, Captain," Kenshin said, slightly hanging his head. "I couldn't sleep last night. I had something on my mind."

"Such as…?" Retsu asked curiously.

"When I went to the Twelfth Division yesterday to pick up my new gear," Kenshin began, holding his armored forearms for effect, "I met this girl."

This had Retsu really interested now. Kenshin was coming to her to talk about girls? Was it time to give him "the talk" she wondered.

"Go on," she urged.

"She's the Lieutenant of Squad Twelve," Kenshin said.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi?" Retsu asked in shock. Of all the girls Kenshin could have held an interest in, Retsu knew that Nemu was the most complicated and possibly the most dangerous.

"While I was there," Kenshin continued, "I watched as her captain verbally abused her. When I asked Ikkaku about it, he told me that her captain did worse than just talk down to her. I asked Captain Zaraki about it, but he couldn't tell me much so I came to you hoping you might know more."

"It is true: I do know much about Captain Kurotsuchi. Our divisions work together on occasion. However, Kenshin, I must ask: why are you interested in the affairs of a division not your own?"

Kenshin blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He himself wondered why he cared so much.

"I…I don't know, Captain. I just do."

"Perhaps it is not as much as the squad itself, but Lieutenant Kurotsuchi that has you so concerned?" Unohana asked knowingly.

Kenshin's face reddened further. Once again, Captain Unohana had seen right through him. They sat in silence for a while as Isane brought them tea. Retsu thanked her subordinate who quietly stood back while the two continued their conversation.

"I kept thinking about her last night," Kenshin admitted with a sigh. "I don't know why…maybe it's because I've always been this way."

"And what way would that be?" Retsu asked curiously.

"I've wanted to keep everyone safe. Even before I became a Soul Reaper, I did whatever I could to protect someone who couldn't do it themselves," he explained. "It's how I met Rangiku and Gin."

"That is certainly commendable, Kenshin," Retsu commented.

"If what everyone is telling me about Captain Kurotsuchi is true, then I want to protect Lieutenant Kurotsuchi."

Unohana was silent for a few moments before speaking again.

"While I can not fault you for such an honorable decision, Kenshin, I'm afraid that Lieutenant Kurotsuchi may be the one person that you may be unable protect."

"Why?" Kenshin asked.

"Because Captain Kurotsuchi is a dangerous man," she answered. "He is invaluable to the Seireitei, but…he is not a good man."

Kenshin noticed that her usual demeanor had completely vanished. He had never seen Captain Unohana this way. He could see that bad mouthing one of her colleagues was not something she enjoyed in the least. Still, he wanted answers and pressed forward.

"So it _is_ possible that he is abusing his lieutenant?" Kenshin asked.

Retsu sighed before continuing.

"Even if he is, Kenshin," she began patiently, "there is little you or anyone can do about it. The circumstances surrounding those two are… unusual," she said.

"What do you mean by that?"

Before Retsu could speak, another Soul Reaper entered the room.

"Captain, we need you in the infirmary; the Ninth Seat of Squad Eight is in critical condition!" he said.

Unohana got up from her desk and headed for the door.

"I am sorry, Kenshin, but I must go," she said before leaving with Isane close behind leaving Kenshin alone.

He sighed in disappointment. He knew he could always come back and talk to Captain Unohana again, but somehow he had a feeling she wouldn't tell him much. His business there done, Kenshin left the Fourth Division.

The walk back to the Twelfth Division gave him time to think. His captain couldn't tell him much of anything and Captain Unohana was less likely to share her knowledge- not that he blamed her; it really was no concern of his anyway. Even so, knowing he had no business knowing, he just had to. He would just have to ask Nemu herself. Still, he realized he couldn't just wander around Squad Twelve just to visit a busy Lieutenant for no other reason than to satiate his curiosity. He would need a genuine reason to go back there.

"Kenny-Two!" he heard an all too familiar little girl squeal as she seemingly dropped from the sky and onto her usual spot on Kenshin's shoulders. "Are you back already?"

"I think the answer to that is obvious, Yachiru," Kenshin said with a groan.

"It is?" she asked, appearing genuinely confused.

"Yachiru, do you know anything about Nemu Kurotsuchi?" he asked, ignoring her childish ignorance.

"Nope, she never talks. Why? Do you like her Kenny-Two?"

"Shut up! That's not it at all!" he denied, though, the blush on his face might have caused some to think otherwise.

"I need to think of a way to see her again so I can talk to her," he thought out loud.

"Why do you need to talk to her if you don't like her?" Yachiru asked with a tilt of her head.

"I don't like _you_, but I talk to you anyway don't I?" Kenshin replied.

"You're mean!" Yachiru said with a pout. "I'm telling Kenny!"

Then it suddenly hit Kenshin. His captain was the answer. He remembered how Captain Kurotsuchi told him to come back once his armor had been damaged. Even after his fight with Renji yesterday, Kenshin's armor was still as shiny and pristine as it was when he picked it up from the Twelfth Division. If anyone could damage the armor, it was Captain Zaraki.

"Thanks Yachiru," Kenshin said before plucking her off his head and running off leaving a very confused lieutenant of Squad Eleven.

Kenshin hurried to his captain's office, an excited smile present on his face. He didn't even bother to knock as he opened the door. Kenpachi cast Kenshin a confused look as his Seventh Seat marched his way.

"Captain, I want to fight you!" he said bluntly.

Kenpachi raised a brow and looked at Kenshin like he sprouted a second hand. Kenshin never came to him and directly asked for a fight out of the blue, but then again Kenpachi was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Ya got a death wish, kid?" he asked with an excited grin. "Alright, I'll oblige you!"

Kenshin gulped, despite his bravado. This was going to hurt.

* * *

Nemu walked out of the archive room holding several folders. Her captain had ordered her to look for some important research notes regarding one of his prior experiments. He seemed to be in fair mood today; he only experimented on one of his subordinates in the last twenty hours.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi!" she heard a voice call out. It sounded familiar. She turned around to see Seventh Seat Hogasha making his way towards her holding a box. He looked anything but alright, however.

Parts of his shihakusho were torn and stained with blood. There were several cuts and gashes all over his body. Judging by the way he was walking, she was also able to ascertain that one or two of the bones in his legs were fractured. Still, he didn't seem to mind at all.

"Seventh Seat Hogasha? What happened to you?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing, I just fought my captain for a little bit," he said nonchalantly. "Actually, that's why I'm here. My armor was destroyed during the fight and I'd like to get it repaired."

"Are you sure it is wise for you to be walking around in your condition?" she asked, looking him over once again. "Perhaps your business here can wait after you have visited the Fourth Division?"

"No it's alright, I'm fine. I've had worse injuries than this," he said with a grin.

"…very well then. I'll take it to Master Mayuri," she said as she held her hand out for the box.

"NEMU! Where are you?" Captain Kurotsuchi's voice echoed from down the hall.

"There you are!" he shouted as he rounded the corner and made his way to his lieutenant. "I said I wanted those notes _today_, you dolt!"

"Forgive me, Master Mayuri," the lieutenant said with light bow.

"It's not her fault, Captain, it's mine," Kenshin spoke up.

Mayuri turned to Kenshin and regarded his bloody appearance with a scowl.

"Who are you and why are you getting blood all over my floors?" he demanded.

"I'm Seventh Seat Hogasha, sir. You saw me just yesterday to give me my armor."

"Oh yes! The monkey from Squad Eleven," Mayuri recalled. "Well want do you want?"

"I'm here to get my armor repaired, sir," Kenshin said holding out the box he brought.

Mayuri took the box and opened the lid. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw. The once smooth and shiny bracers and greaves were now cracked and split in pieces.

"What in the blue fires of hell have you done, you buffoon?" Mayuri asked incredulously. "Even a fool like you should have been able to keep them from ending up in this state! Just what were you doing?"

"I was fighting my captain," Kenshin answered.

Mayuri looked at Kenshin in disbelief. As he continued to stare at Kenshin, disbelief became intrigue.

"You've fought that barbarian, Zaraki, and yet you are still standing?" he asked curiously. "You must have a very high pain threshold, given the extent of your injuries."

"Well, it's not the first time I've fought him," Kenshin responded, not liking the way Captain Kurotsuchi was looking at him.

"Interesting…" Mayuri said as a smile slowly formed on his face. "Then perhaps you wouldn't mind participating in an experiment or two for me."

Kenshin eyes widened in horror. The sudden fear caused him to forget his original purpose for being there. His mind flashed back to what Captain Unohana had said to him earlier. The last thing he wanted was to be a part of any experiment conducted by this man.

"It only seems like a fair trade," Mayuri continued, an eerie glee starting to enter his tone. "I repair your armor for you and you will assist me with my research. How about it? Given your current condition I will even abstain from an experiment that is potentially life threatening."

"Uh…I-I would, sir, but I…I have work to do back at Squad Eleven and-"

"Nonsense! Come now this won't take long at all. Nemu!" he ordered.

"Yes, master," she complied. She pulled out a needle from her sleeve and calmly walked towards Kenshin.

"Please hold still, Seventh Seat Hogasha," she said, her voice empty.

Kenshin looked to the needle with renewed fear. His fear of needles and the man in front of him were quickly becoming overwhelming. He started taking a few steps back and hoped his legs could handle the run he was going to make out of there. Before such an action could be taken, however, Nemu had flash stepped behind him and injected the needle into his neck.

Kenshin would have screamed, but whatever was in that needle suddenly made him very tired. Nemu released him and Kenshin fell to the ground. He tried to fight back the wave of exhaustion that struck him, but what that needle contained was much stronger then the anesthetic Captain Unohana used.

"That's right, just relax," Mayuri said, his voice a little more excited than usual. "It'll all be over soon."

"Kenny-Two!"

Kenshin didn't really believe in miracles and never had much reason to, but that all changed the moment he heard that name and the voice who called it out.

"There you are!" Yachiru said cheerfully as she hopped over to him. "Kenny was wondering why you took off in the middle of your fight. You don't look so good," she said as she knelt down beside Kenshin's body.

"H…help…me!" Kenshin struggled to say.

"You! Leave my squad at once!" Mayuri shouted at Yachiru. Yachiru regarded him with a curious expression before her smile returned.

"Okay, but I have to take Kenny-Two with me. Kenny wants to fight him again," Yachiru said as she hefted Kenshin up over her shoulder. "Bye-bye!" And then she was off with Mayuri shouting obscenities from behind her.

"Don't worry, Kenny-Two. I'll take you to see Braidy-Lady so you can fight with Kenny again!" Yachiru exclaimed cheerfully.

Kenshin couldn't believe Yachiru of all people had saved him. He would definitely owe her a weeks' worth of candy for this.

He was disappointed that his second encounter with Nemu didn't go as planned, but at the same time he was just glad to be out of there.

Finally, the drug stated to take its full effect on him. He was just glad he would wake up in a bed in the Fourth Division instead of lab table in the Twelfth.

* * *

**Please let me know what how I did with Mayuri! I really want to get him right!**

**Till next time!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: this chapter was originally going to be much longer, but I wanted to get an update out as soon as possible so I divided it in half. I try to get the other half up as soon as possible.**

* * *

Waking up in the Fourth Division was an all too familiar feeling to Kenshin. The white walls and ceilings, the sweet smell of lavender incense, waking up in the cozy hospital robes, and the comfortable silk sheets and fluffy pillows were the more pleasant aspects of the experience. But as always, these aspects were accompanied by broken bones, torn muscles, severe headaches, holes in one's shoulder, etc. This time, he felt a dull throbbing in his head, and numbness in his body. He groaned in pain as he tried to lift himself up.

"Don't try to move yet, Kenshin!" he heard a familiar voice.

"I-Isane?" Kenshin croaked.

"Yes it's me" the silver haired lieutenant said. "How do you feel?"

"Tired…sore," Kenshin groaned. "What happened?"

Kenny-Two!" shouted that irritating childish voice that haunted Kenshin's dreams.

Yachiru jumped up from the floor and landed on hard on Kenshin's chest, causing the young Soul Reaper to yelp in pain.

"Lieutenant Kusajishi, please! You mustn't do that!" Isane shouted with worry.

"Were my ribs broken, before?" Kenshin asked on the verge of tears.

Isane grabbed the clipboard hanging of the foot of Kenshin's bed and checked the list of injuries.

"No," she answered.

"They are now," he said, his voice cracking.

"Why are you crying, Kenny-Two?" Yachiru asked. "Is it because 'Clown-Face' almost got you?"

"If it weren't for the fact that you saved me, I'd scream at you!" Kenshin ground out.

"My, what is all the commotion?" asked Captain Unohana, who had just walked in on the scene.

"Kenshin just woke, Captain Unohana," Isane reported.

"And how are your injuries, Kenshin?" Unohana asked.

"I think I have a parasite, Captain," Kenshin responded.

"Oh? We didn't find any parasitic organisms when while you were unconscious," Unohana said as she rechecked the clipboard. "What makes you think you have a parasite?"

"I've seen it. It's small and pink and it's sitting on my chest!"

"Where? I don't see it," Yachiru said as she examined Kenshin's body.

"Lieutenant Kusajishi, please sit over there," Retsu ordered gently pointing an adjacent bed.

Yachiru complied and hopped over to the other bed, allowing Kenshin to nurse his aching chest.

"Well, now that the problem has been resolved, how do you feel, Kenshin?" Unohana asked.

"My body feels numb," Kenshin answered. "What happened? I remember seeing Captain Kurotsuchi and getting a needle in my neck."

"You were injected with a very powerful paralytic that was mixed with rather large dose of anesthesia," Retsu explained. "Lieutenant Kusajishi brought you in five hours ago already unconscious."

"He was going to experiment on me," Kenshin said, remembering the horror he felt when Captain Kurotsuchi looked at him with those golden eyes.

"If Lieutenant Kusajishi hadn't arrived when she did, Captain Kurotsuchi may very well have you on a lab table right now," Unohana stated her tone serious. "What were you doing there Kenshin?"

"I…I had to get my armor repaired," Kenshin responded lamely. It was only half the truth.

"Really?" Retsu asked, unconvinced. "Would that have anything to do with the several fractures on both of your legs, the dozens of lacerations found all over your body, or your broken arm?"

"…that might have something to do with it..." Kenshin muttered. He suddenly felt like a child that had broken his mother's priceless antique urn.

"And where did you get these injuries Kenshin?" Unohana continued.

"From fighting my captain, ma'am," Kenshin said, keeping his head down.

"And why did you not come to me right away after receiving these injuries?"

"Because I wanted to get to the Twelfth Division as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"Because…I wanted… I wanted see Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," Kenshin answered, too ashamed to look at Captain Unohana.

"Is that why your armor is gone?"

Kenshin nodded.

"So you asked Captain Zaraki to battle you so your armor would receive enough damage to warrant a visit to the Twelfth Division only so you could speak to Lieutenant Kurotsuchi and all the while causing severe harm to yourself in the process?"

Kenshin tried to look as far away from Captain Unohana as he could, enough not to cause any pain to his stiff neck anyway.

"Look at me when I am speaking to you, young man!" Unohana demanded, her tone causing Kenshin to flinch. This was the first time he had ever heard any semblance of anger from Captain Unohana before.

After a couple of seconds, he found a sliver of courage to meet Unohana's stern gaze.

"I am very disappointed in you, Kenshin," she said and Kenshin actually detected a bit of hurt in her voice. "Do you know what might have happened to you if your lieutenant didn't arrive in time?"

Kenshin shook his head.

"Perhaps the next time you think about doing something so foolish, you will remember this day."

That was the last thing Retsu said before walking out of the room. She had actually walked out on Kenshin without giving him that smile that had warmed his heart for decades. He never once thought that Captain Unohana could actually be angry with him.

Isane who had quietly watched the entire exchange attempted to distract herself from the suddenly awkward silence by looking over Kenshin's charts. Even Yachiru had been stunned into silence.

"Well," Isane began trying- and failing- to alleviate the situation, "your injuries have all been healed and you're clear to go. My only suggestion is that you try to avoid any strenuous activity for the rest of the day."

"Right," Kenshin responded, hardly hearing a word Isane had said as he slipped out of bed. "Where's my uniform?"

"Right there," Isane said while pointing to the chair beside Kenshin's bed. "Your old one was too badly damaged so we got you a new one."

"Thanks," Kenshin answered monotone.

"I'll just leave you to change," Isane said as she quickly walked out of the room, but Yachiru remained. Kenshin was surprised that the little lieutenant was able to garner a sense of decency to look away while he changed.

"Are you okay, Kenny-Two?" she asked once he finished dressing himself.

"No," he responded flatly as he set his zanpakuto in his sash.

How could he be okay? Captain Unohana was right. He allowed himself to be thrashed upon by the same man that had nearly cleaved him in two so many years ago just to see a girl who just tried to drug him several hours ago so her captain could do lord knows what to him.

"Do you want to get some candy?"

"Not really, let's just go home," he said as he headed for the door.

"Okay," she said with none of her usual enthusiasm. She didn't even bother to hop on Kenshin's shoulders. If he wasn't so distraught, he might have actually been impressed that Yachiru was able to repress her natural tendency to be annoying for him.

Their walk back to the Squad Eleven barracks was a silent one- yet another thing that had amazed Kenshin: Yachiru was actually able to keep quiet for longer than a minute. It was only when they got there did Kenshin realized he had left his armor at the Twelfth Division. He would have to ask someone to go get it for him; there was no he was going back there anytime soon.

He was thankful that he didn't run into Ikkaku or Yumichika or even Captain Zaraki as he walked through the barracks. He wasn't in the mood for fighting and after what had just happened to him back in the Fourth Division, his first priority was to follow every one of Captain Unohana's orders right down to the letter and avoid any activity until tomorrow. Maybe then he would return and apologize for his actions.

"I'll go tell Kenny you can't fight right now, okay?" Yachiru said when they stopped outside of Kenshin's room.

"Thanks, Yachiru," he said before entering his room and closing the door behind him.

He casually tossed his zanpakuto to the side, somehow knowing Yachiru wouldn't try to steal and make her chase him for it today. He then flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. All desire for training or sparring with his squad mates gone, he decided that the only thing he could do was rest as Captain Unohana would most likely have him do and return tomorrow to apologize. It would be that easy…he hoped.

* * *

"So he's just been locked up in his room for three days?" Rangiku asked incredulously. On her left walked Yumichika and Ikkaku and her right was Gin- now Lieutenant Ichimaru.

"Pretty much," Ikkaku said irately. Kenshin's funk had kept they kid from training and that didn't sit well with him.

"We don't know what to do anymore, we've tried everything!" Yumichika stated dramatically. "He won't come out to train or to eat…I don't even think he's bathed!" he said with horror.

"What happened?" Gin asked curiously. Kenshin had been down before, but based on what Ikkaku and Yumichika had told him and Rangiku, this was too extreme.

"He won't tell us!" Ikkaku growled. "Kid just comes back from the Fourth Division and shirks his responsibilities for three days! He's lucky I haven't beaten the piss out of him!"

"Don't talk about my brother that way!" Rangiku said angrily, smacking Ikkaku's hairless head.

"Let's jus' see if we can get 'im ta talk," Gin said patiently

They made their way to Kenshin's room and spotted Yachiru standing outside his door.

"Has he come out yet, Yachiru?" Ikkaku asked impatiently.

"Nope, Kenny-Two's still sad," she stated.

"What?" Ikkaku demanded. "I'll kill him!"

"Why don't 'cha take it easy there, Third Seat Madarame," Gin said with his usual grin, but Ikkaku didn't miss the underlying warning in his voice.

"Let us handle this. We're his family," Rangiku said before knocking on the door.

"Go away!" was all she got. Kenshin's voice sounded tired, but Rangiku easily picked up on the tone of his voice that suggested he really wanted to be alone.

"Kenshin, it's me," Rangiku said through the door. "Gin's here too. Why don't you open the door and tell us what's wrong?"

"Leave me alone!" came another groan.

"Kenshin, we can't help ya if ya don't let us in," Gin commented. All they heard was the sound of something soft hitting the door, presumably a pillow.

Now Rangiku was getting frustrated.

"Kenshin, stop acting like a child!" she shouted.

"That's hilarious coming from _you_," Kenshin said dryly.

"Why you little-!" Rangiku shouted, ready to rip the door off its hinges and give her brother a few good smacks across the head. Luckily, Gin was able to keep her from doing so.

"Rangiku, remembah' why we're here," he said while placing a hand on her shoulder.

He gave her a few seconds to count to ten and breathe and then they tried again.

"Kenshin, we're comin' in," Gin stated.

All they heard was an audible groan, but it didn't seem like an objection, so Gin and Rangiku entered the room.

"You three wait out here," she said to the three members of Squad Eleven before closing the door.

Rangiku gazed upon her brother's prone form on his bed. He was face-down and fully dressed in his shihakusho. Beside his bed was an open box containing his armor from Yachiru or whoever had brought it in. Had he truly been lying in bed for three days like Ikkaku had said?

"So, Kenshin, how's it goin'?" Gin asked, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Just go away," Kenshin grumbled into his pillow.

"Kenshin, why are you acting like this?" Rangiku demanded.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Talkin' will help," Gin tried once more.

"No it won't!"

Rangiku had had enough. She stomped to her brother's bed and grabbed him by his hair- greasy and unwashed she noticed with disgust- and ignored his cries of protest as she forced him into a sitting position and did not relinquish her hold.

"Let go of my hair, Rangiku!" Kenshin shouted as he tried to pry at her fingers.

"Look at me you little brat!" she snapped with venom in her voice.

Kenshin was surprised by the amount of anger her voice held and stopped thrashing for a minute to look at her.

"You're a mess, you smell like you haven't bathed in days, your dirty hair is in my hand and the only reason I'm putting up with it right now is because I care enough about you to come all the way over here and see what is wrong with you!" she screamed. "Now stop acting like a baby and just tell me what's wrong!"

"I made her angry!" Kenshin shouted.

"Made who angry?" Rangiku asked curiously, still holding onto Kenshin's hair.

"Captain Unohana," Kenshin admitted with tears forming in his eyes from the combination of his confession and his hair follicles being slowly pulled out of his scalp.

Satisfied with his answer, Rangiku released her hold on his hair and let him fall back onto his bed and nurse his aching head.

"Is that why you've been holing yourself up in here?" she asked.

"Kenshin, Cap'n Unohana is practically yer mother and yerr practically her son; there's nothin' ya could do that could make her angry," Gin said jovially.

"Well I did!" Kenshin snapped.

"How?" Rangiku asked curiously.

"I did something stupid," Kenshin muttered.

"What exactly did you do?" Rangiku asked growing impatient once again.

Kenshin said nothing for several moments. Gin waited patiently while Rangiku looked like she was preparing to fist her brother's hair again. Luckily, Kenshin spoke up before she could take such action.

He told them about how he stayed up all night thinking of Nemu Kurotsuchi, how he had asked everyone he knew that might have been able to tell him anything, his plan to get a free pass to go looking for her and how it almost got him on an operating table with the scariest man in the Soul Society digging through his organs or worse.

"So you brutally injured yourself in order to destroy your equipment all so you could talk to a girl you're crushing on?" Rangiku asked.

"I'm not crushing on her," Kenshin denied, "…but yes, that was my plan."

"And in the end, all ya got was a needle in yer neck and ten seconds away from bein' turned inside out?" Gin continued, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Basically," Kenshin responded.

"You idiot!" Rangiku shouted as her fist collided with Kenshin's already tender head eliciting a cry of pain.

"I'm not surprised Captain Unohana's angry with you! She tried to warn you and you went and did something stupid anyway!" she yelled.

"Don't you think I know that now!" he yelled back.

"That's not the point! You should have gone to her and apologized already!"

"I can't," Kenshin responded lamely.

"What do you mean 'you can't'?"

"I mean I can't!" he snapped.

"Yer ashamed ta face her again, aren'tcha?" Gin asked knowingly.

Kenshin's sudden aversion of his gaze told Gin he had hit the mark. Damn Gin and his perceptiveness.

"Seriously?" Rangiku asked incredulously. "Get yourself cleaned up, march down there and apologize!" she ordered.

"I told you I can't!" Kenshin shouted.

"What's with all the yelling?" came an irate voice.

The three looked to see the door open and the giant form of the captain of Squad Eleven entering the room.

"So this is where you've been," Kenpachi said accusingly. "When Yachiru told me why ya ran out on our fight three days ago, I decided to cut ya a break and let you rest, but now you're just pushing it."

"I haven't been feeling well, sir," Kenshin lied.

He suddenly found the collar of his shihakusho in the grasp of the larger man and himself being hoisted into the air. Rangiku made a move to protest, but Gin stopped her.

"Don't bullshit me, kid," Kenpachi said, his voice low and angry. "Yachiru told me what happened; Captain Unohana's upset with you because you did something stupid and you've just been lying here cryin' about it."

"I wasn't crying!" Kenshin grounded out in protest.

"Whatever! I thought you were past this," Kenpachi snapped. "You're acting the same way you did all those years ago! You have a problem that you can't solve so instead of trying to find the answer, you run and hide like a little brat!"

"I don't-!" Kenshin tried to protest, but was cut off by his captain.

"You're a member of Squad Eleven! Stop sitting in the corner moping and act like a man!"

There was no response from Kenshin. The two engaged in a contest of glares with Rangiku and Gin standing not four feet away and Ikkaku, Yumichika and Yachiru peeking past the door frame.

"Emergency! Emergency!" shouted a voice of the loudspeakers throughout the Seireitei. "The Squad Eight patrol from the Fifty-Eighth Rukon District has come under attack by Hollows! By order of Head Captain Yamamoto, Squad Eleven is to send aid to the patrol immediately!"

"They're playin' our song kid," Kenpachi said evenly. "You gonna join us?"

"Are you ordering me to go?" Kenshin asked coolly.

Kenpachi responded by slamming Kenshin into the nearest wall. Kenshin let out a grunt of pain and glared fiercely at his superior.

"I _asked _if you were gonna join us," Kenpachi growled.

Kenshin finally folded under the sharp gaze of his captain and looked away shamefully. Kenpachi let out a disappointed sigh and dropped Kenshin to the floor.

"Ikkaku get the boys together!" he ordered as he headed towards the door. "I want everyone at the barracks entrance in five minutes!"

"Yes sir," Ikkaku said before giving Kenshin a disappointed glance before leaving followed by Yumichika and Yachiru.

"Kenshin shouldn't you-"Rangiku began, but Gin placed a hand on her shoulder and shushed her.

"We hafta let him figure this out on his own," he said.

Rangiku was about to protest, but after some consideration, she realized Gin was right. Her brother wasn't a little kid anymore; he was a Soul Reaper and a seated officer of Squad Eleven. He would have to take care of this by himself. So the two of them quietly left, with Kenshin remaining in the spot where his captain had dropped him.

Sure, Kenshin realized he might have been acting immature, but so what? It wasn't like he had just lain in bed for three days doing nothing. He had been trying to work up the courage to face Captain Unohana, the closest thing to a mother he had ever had, and trying to come up with a decent apology.

"And look where that got me…" he muttered to himself.

His wallowing had left him worse for wear hygienically, he hadn't eaten in days, but the worst of it was that he had continued to upset and disappoint more people that he cared about.

"How do I make this right?" he wondered out loud.

"_Get up," _he heard a voice say.

He recognized the voice almost instantly. It was the same voice that had driven him all these years. He looked to where his zanpakuto, Kurorei no Tate, sat. It was still in the same spot he had dropped it three days before. A wave of dread suddenly came over him; the last thing he needed was his zanpakuto to say he was disappointed in him as well.

"What do _you_ want?" Kenshin asked, hoping his sword wouldn't answer.

"_I want you to get up,"_ his zanpakuto replied.

"Why?"

"_You are not that stupid boy, so do not try to act like it,"_ the sword said impatiently.

"I'm not acting like anything, I'm just…just…," Kenshin tried to come up with an answer, but nothing came.

"_You are just sitting here like a coward,"_ Kurorei no Tate answered for him. _"I thought you told me all those years ago that you would not worry anyone else ever again.'_

"I don't want to worry them, but I just don't know what to do," Kenshin replied pathetically.

"_You want an answer? Then you start by getting up."_

"Why do you always make it sound like it's always that easy?"

"_Because it can be if you make it so. Just. Get. Up!"_

Kenshin thought for a moment on his sword's words. Somehow, they made a sense, just like always. It reminded him of when he fought his captain sixty years ago. His zanpakuto had told him exactly what he needed to hear then and just like then, it had said just what Kenshin needed to hear now. He reached for his zanpakuto and got up.

* * *

"Alright, boys, move out! We have Hollows to kill!" Kenpachi said excitedly. His men cheered raucously and followed their captain out through the gates of the barracks.

"Wait!" someone shouted.

Kenpachi turned to see someone pushing through the crowd to reach him. He was surprised to see that the person who broke through the front of the line was the same person he had been yelling at only several minutes ago.

Kenshin stood at attention in front of Kenpachi, fully dressed and wearing his greaves and bracers. The only strange thing was that he was sopping wet and shivering. Kenpachi raised a brow at his appearance.

"Why are you shivering and wet, kid?" he asked.

"T-The water in t-the bath was c-cold, sir" Kenshin stammered.

"Why didn't you take a warm one?"

"I d-didn't want t-to be late," he answered.

Kenpachi smiled and the laughed in amusement before patting Kenshin's wet shoulder.

"Alright then, kid. Some running oughta warm you right up. Now let's go!" he shouted before he and his squad began a full on sprint towards the blood and carnage that awaited them.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note****: that's right people! After several months, I'm back with another chapter! The success of and easy flow my Dragon Age story has kept me away from this, but this is and always will be my favorite story to write.**

**DISCLAIMER~ Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. I own nothing, but my OC, Kenshin Hogasha.**

* * *

The Hollows in the Fifty-Eight District were large, sickly-green, serpentine-like monsters with fearsome looking masks that contained rows of sharp teeth and spewed acid. There were nine Menos, each one stood more than ten stories tall. Members of the advance squad that Squad Eight had sent out were on the ground. Some suffering a slow painful death from acidic spray, some had their limbs burned or torn off.

Kenshin had only heard stories and viewed pictures of this class of Hollows. Shocked by the carnage before him, Kenshin took an involuntary step back. A large hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked up to see the grinning and excited face of his captain staring at him.

"Relax, kid, you can take em'," Kenpachi reassured.

Bolstered by his captain's words, Kenshin nodded and reached for his zanpakuto. He was a member of Squad Eleven and he would fight until he could fight no longer just like the men standing beside him.

"Let's go!" Kenpachi shouted as he took off running towards the nearest Menos.

Kenshin went after the Menos farthest away from his captain; he didn't want to be anywhere near that slaughter. He spotted one trying to devour two of the advance squad members that looked like they were about to give out. He ran towards them and placed himself between them and the Menos.

"Get behind me!" Kenshin shouted to them. They did as they were told and stood behind Kenshin, very thankful to be out of the Hollow's path.

The Menos stared down at the three Soul Reapers as if they were annoying little ants. It opened its large maw and Kenshin watched in awe as a large red sphere of malevolent energy formed in the center.

"It's going to use a cero! We need to get out of here!" one of the soul reapers behind him shouted.

Kenshin stood his ground. He was an officer of Squad Eleven; facing seemingly impossible odds was part of the job description. He drew his zanpakuto, and braced himself as he held it out in front of him.

The Menos launched the cero directly at Kenshin.

"Guard, Kurorei no Tate!" he shouted. His zanpakutō transformed into its shield shikai form.

He raised the shield just before the cero hit him. Kurorei no Tate successfully managed to fend the cero off, but it didn't dissipate. The force felt like holding off to ten Kenpachi Zaraki's.

Despite the extreme pressure and incredible size of the cero pushing against it, Kurorei no Tate's sheen surface did not crack. Since the day Kenshin acquired his shikai, he found nothing that was able to scratch it, let alone dent it. Even his captain could not scratch the surface.

Kenshin looked down and noticed the cero was slowly pushing him back. His arms started to shake then to ache under the force. If this kept up, he wouldn't be able to hold the cero off for much longer.

From the distance, having slain five of the adjuchas on his own, Kenpachi was watching Kenshin's battle with interest. He had never seen someone of a rank lower than a captain fend off a cero before, but somehow his Seventh Seat was able to pull off such a feat. Even so, the kid looked like he was reaching his limit. It wouldn't be long before that Cero knocked him back on his ass.

He was surprised, however, to see Kenshin take one slow determined step forward. And another and then another before he stopped. Then with long and loud cry, Kenshin actually knocked the Cero back with his shield, sending it straight back at the adjuchas that had fired it at him. The red burst of energy hit the Hollow square in the face which exploded into a bloody mess on impact. What was left of the towering monster slowly dissipated.

Kenshin was amazed at what he had accomplished. He had killed a Hollow that was five times stronger than any of the other ones he had slain to date. How many Seventh Seats could say they killed an adjuchas class Menos after seeing one for the first time on the same day? Now he couldn't wait to get back and rub it in Rangiku and Gin's faces.

An explosion pulled him from his smug musings. He turned around just in time to see one sickly-green tail rocket towards him and wrapped around his right leg. He was roughly dragged a few yards before being pulled up into the air. Kenshin was hanging upside down a good forty feet in the air. The fearsome looking Hollow examined and then sniffed Kenshin before laughing diabolically.

"You're a lot stronger than those other small fry, Soul Reaper," it growled. "Since I caught you so easily, it would be a waste to just kill you…so I think I'll eat you!"

The adjuchas flung Kenshin up high into the air. "Shit!" Kenshin exclaimed in his sudden ascent. As his body began its descent, he could see the Hollow several stories below, waiting to devour him.

Kenshin glared at the Hollow as he fell. _'It thinks I'll just give up and let myself get eaten?' _he thought angrily. _'You're in for a big surprise'._

He straightened his body out and began falling towards the Hollow at much faster pace. The Hollow arched itself back and sprung its head forward as soon as Kenshin was in range of its jaws. Kenshin flash stepped out of the way, just as the Hollow closed its mouth and reappeared above the Hollow's head.

"Bite this!" he shouted as dropped and drove the heavier rounded end of Kurorei no Tate down on the Hollow's head.

The impact on the adjuchas' head was enough to create a fissure in its mask. Disoriented, the creature stumbled to the ground.

The other seven Hollows were dead. Most of the work had been done by Kenpachi and the top officers of Squad Eleven. The other squad members had gathered in a state of awe around the adjuchas that Kenshin had just brought down. As the young Seventh Seat jumped from the Hollow's head, he heard cheering from his fellow Squad Eleven members. He saw Ikkaku and Yumichika push through the crowd. Both looked rather impressed.

"Two adjuchas killed by a Seventh Seat in a single day…" Ikkaku mused out loud. "Never thought I'd see this happen."

"It's not dead yet," Kenshin stated as he reared his shield back to deliver the killing blow.

The Hollow's mouth opened and, before Kenshin could even see it coming, a long pink tongue with a sharp barbed end shot towards his arm. The barb imbedded itself in his right bicep causing Kenshin to cry out in pain and drop Kurorei no Tate.

"Kenshin!" Yumichika shouted in worry. Before he could draw his sword and run to his comrade's defense, Ikkaku stopped him.

"You know how this has to be," he said grimly. "He has to fight his battles on his own."

Yumichika wanted to protest, but he knew Ikkaku was right; it wasn't their place to interfere. Kenshin was either going to slay the adjuchas or die.

"Looks like your best wasn't enough, Soul Reaper!" the adjuchas lisped as it slowly dragged Kenshin towards the opened maw. "Don't worry; I'll try to devour you quickly!"

Before he could taunt Kenshin further, the Soul Reaper fought through the excruciating pain in his arm and grabbed Kurorei no Tate. He grabbed the adjuchas' tongue with his left and raised Kurorei no Tate as high as he could and brought its sharp edge down on it, effectively severing a small portion of it from the adjuchas. The adjuchas roared in pain and thrashed about as blood and bile shot from its mouth. Kenshin jumped into the air and drove the three sharp spikes at the head of Kurorei no Tate right on the hairline crack. The monster's mask crumbled before it slowly faded into nothingness.

Kenshin drove his now sealed zanpakutō into the ground and leaned on it heavily. He gripped the barb and tongue in his bicep, and slowly pulled it out.

"That's two adjuchas, kid!" Ikkaku said excitedly as he and Yumichika came up behind Kenshin.

"That was beyond impressive, Kenshin," Yumichika commented. "How do you feel?"

Kenshin didn't respond, but his breath quickened and they noticed that he was shaking.

"Hey, Kenshin, you alright?" Ikkaku asked growing a little worried.

"My…arm!" Kenshin breathed out before collapsing.

Yumichika quickly knelt down beside Kenshin and checked his arm. He gasped in horror as a purple hue spread from where the adjuchas' barb had penetrated his flesh. The wound had already started to fester,decay, and blacken.

"He's been poisoned!" Yumichika exclaimed to Ikkaku who immediately turned to the men.

"Meet up with the incoming patrol from Squad Four. Tell them to get their asses over here now!" Ikkaku ordered.

"That won't be necessary," said a voice that was all too horrifyingly familiar.

Kenshin glanced in the direction of the voice and saw Mayuri Kurotsuchi walking towards him. Seeing Nemu beside him was not enough to deter the sudden onset of nauseating fear.

"What are you doing here, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Ikkaku asked warily.

"I came to collect some samples and specimens. It's not every day an adjuchas class Menos appears in the Soul Society," the man answered and then let out an annoyed sigh. "But it seems you blithering primates have already killed them all."

"Then your work here done," This time it was Yumichika who spoke up.

"Not quite yet. It seems there is still a sample that remains," the man said while eying Kenshin and his rotting arm. "I would like the young Squad Eleven monkey to come with me."

Kenshin considered getting up and running then, but given his injuries and the fact that the insidious man before him was a captain, he doubted he would get very far.

"He needs medical treatment first, sir," Ikkaku stated while purposely placing himself between Kenshin and Mayuri. The young man's respect for Ikkaku increased tenfold in that instant.

"Is it a matter of life and death, Third Seat Madarame?" Mayuri asked impatiently.

"Yes it is, sir," Ikkaku said, managing to keep his composure.

"Then you had better step aside. I will help him," Mayuri said while impolitely brushing past Ikkaku.

"Don't come near me!" Kenshin grounded out. Mayuri only gave him a malicious grin.

"Now how is that for gratitude," the deranged captain said. "I offer to save your quickly shortening life and you tell me not come near you? Really, boy, don't you have any manners."

Kenshin glared, but another painful throb from his arm made him reevaluate his situation.

"What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm sure the mechanics would be lost on you, but the long and the short of it is this: I'm going to remove the poison from your body and restore your arm."

Kenshin only had to look at his arm once to understand how much he needed Mayuri's offer. He nodded his consent.

"Don't just stand there, Nemu, take a hold his arm!" Mayuri ordered.

"Yes, master," she responded dutifully and knelt down beside Kenshin and held out his arm while Mayuri wandered behind Kenshin.

"This may hurt," Nemu said quietly.

Before Kenshin could ask her to elaborate, he heard the sound of a sword being drawn behind him.

Then there was pain. Immeasurable pain.

It didn't hurt for the first half second. The first thing Kenshin felt was a sudden emptiness having a limb cut right at the base of his shoulder. The pain didn't start until he saw the blood spurt from where his arm used to be. Only when he saw Nemu holding his entire arm in her hands did the pain become like a fire.

Then he screamed.

All the injuries he had received in the past: being stabbed in the stomach, having a hole put into his shoulder, being nearly cut in two by his captain; none of them compared to the pain he was feeling now.

He dug his head and back onto the ground yelling in agony. He tried to get up but having to do it with only his left arm made difficult. Ikkaku and Yumichika were by his side in an instant trying to calm him down, however, futile their effort might have been.

"What the hell did you do?" Ikkaku shouted at Mayuri.

"You said you were going to help him!" Yumichika said, just as angry as his colleague.

"And I did," Mayuri said as it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I stopped the poison from spreading to the rest of his body."

"Why didn't you just use some kind of antidote?" Yumichika demanded while Ikkaku ripped the sleeve from his own shihakusho and used it to staunch the blood flow from Kenshin's stub.

"Because I do not yet know what kind of poison was used," Mayuri said with obvious annoyance. "That is why I had to amputate his arm; so that I may take it back for study. If I had not done what I did, he would most surely die before anyone from Squad Four got here."

"You son of bitch!" Ikkaku snarled.

"What's going on here?" asked the voice of Kenpachi Zaraki as he made his way to the small group. "Why is the kid on the ground?"

"This monster cut off his arm, Captain!" Yumichika exclaimed whilst pointing at Mayuri.

Kenpachi looked only slightly surprised and then looked to Ikkaku.

"Let me see," he ordered.

Kenpachi gave the wound a once over before turning to glare at Mayuri.

"What the hell do you think gives you the right to cut off my subordinate's limbs, Mayuri," Kenpachi asked as he gripped the handle of his sword tightly.

"Is that what you call gratitude, Zaraki?" Mayuri asked with a scowl. "I save your little monkey from certain death and this is the thanks I get?"

"I should kill you right now," Kenpachi stated as he drew his sword.

"I wouldn't sully my hands by fighting a brute like you," Mayuri scoffed.

"That's because you're a coward!"

"What? How dare you!" Mayuri said angrily.

"That is enough, Captain Zaraki, Captain Kurotsuchi," they all heard a serene yet stern voice command.

Making her way towards them with purposeful strides was Captain Unohana. Behind her were Isane and the relief team that was supposed to meet up with Squad Eleven. She looked at both men with disapproving eyes and their hostility instantly lessened a bit out of fear for the senior captain.

"What is going on here, Captain Zaraki?" she asked, her voice still firm. "A Soul Reaper from your Squad came rushing to our relief team and told us to come here immediately and yet I find you two at each other throats. Is this the cause of the urgen-"

It was then that she noticed Kenshin lying on the ground. A bloody piece of Third Seat Madarame's uniform covering his shoulder, but she saw no arm protruding from beneath it. She rushed past the two captains and knelt beside Kenshin's body with Isane following behind.

"What has happened here?" she all but demanded. "Tell me, Third Seat Madarame!"

"He was poisoned by an adjuchas, Captain Unohana," Ikkaku reported.

"And his arm? Kenshin what happened to your arm?" she asked worry clearly evident in her voice.

Kenshin responded by slowly lifting his remaining arm and pointing an accusatory finger at Mayuri.

"He…cut it off!"

Kenshin thought he had seen Unohana mad before, but that was nothing compared to what he saw once he told her what Mayuri had done. Her face was composed, but somehow Kenshin just knew Captain Unohana was not merely upset, she was livid. She stood and faced Mayuri, showing no visible signs of hostility, but everyone still felt the air get much thicker.

"I trust that amputating this young man's arm was a decision you made in order to save his life, Captain Kurotsuchi," she said evenly.

"Why else would I do it?" Mayuri asked with a mocking smile.

"Captain Unohana, he's going into shock!" Isane shouted.

Retsu turned back to look at Kenshin and saw that he was almost as pale as snow and he was barely breathing.

"Use your kido to make him as comfortable as possible until we can get him to the Fourth Division, Isane," Retsu instructed.

"If I may, Captain Unohana," Mayuri spoke up, "I just might have a solution that is mutually beneficial to both myself and the boy."

"Perhaps we will discuss it later, Captain Kurotsuchi," Retsu said tersely.

"Would you have me not make good on my promise to restore his arm?" Mayuri asked with a toothy smirk.

Despite her desire to get Kenshin to the Fourth Division as soon as possible, Retsu's curiosity was piqued.

"How would you do this?" she asked.

Mayuri's grin widened as he reached into his haori and pulled out a single syringe filled with a green liquid.

"This is my latest creation. I call it Hojiku-Zai," he said proudly.

"What is it?" Retsu asked warily.

"A regenerative serum," he answered. "I was just about to test it when I received word of the adjuchas. If my calculations are correct, and they are, this serum should fully restore his arm."

"And you can guarantee this?"

"There's only one way to find out," Mayuri said as he dangled the syringe in front her as if he were trying to bribe a child with sweets.

Retsu considered the offer. The way she saw it, she had two options. She could refuse and hurry Kenshin to her hospital and if he survived, he would either live the rest of his life with a single arm or receive prosthetic replacement, or she could take a gamble on Mayuri's offer and hopefully Kenshin could remain a Soul Reaper for the foreseeable future. She had to make a decision quick, or she might lose him all together.

"Make it quick, Captain Kurotsuchi," she said finally.

Mayuri gave her a gleeful smile and made his way to Kenshin only to find himself blocked by Kenpachi.

"You've done enough damage Kurotsuchi," he said with a hate filled glare. "You're not going anywhere near my Seventh Seat."

Mayuri only let out an annoyed sigh.

"Is everyone lacking in gratitude today?" he asked irately.

Retsu was in no mood for the arguing. Kenshin was dying and his own captain was fighting with the only one that might be able to keep him from winding up a crippled!

"This is not a time for arguing, Captain Zaraki!" she said sternly.

"I'm not letting him touch the kid again," Kenpachi stated unfazed by Retsu.

"If you care about him, you will let Captain Kurotsuchi do what he needs to do."

"Since when are you in charge of how I run my division, Unohana?" Kenpachi said with a challenging glare.

"He is my patient," she shot back. "I am in charge of his wellbeing. You want him to grow strong don't you? Will you let him remain in your squad when he only has one arm?"

Kenpachi continued to glare at her. He would never say it, but she was right. If Kenshin only had one arm, he would only become a burden and wind up losing everything he fought so hard for. He didn't want to see that happen to him; he wanted to watch Kenshin grow further and get stronger. He didn't like Mayuri, he hated him in fact, but just this one time, he would let that sick clown do his work.

"If you do anything funny, I'll kill you," Kenpachi warned.

"You're welcome to try," Mayuri scoffed as he brushed past Kenpachi.

Nemu took Kenshin from Isane and removed Ikkaku's bloody shihakusho sleeve from Kenshin's stump. Mayuri injected the syringe a couple of inches near the wound and stepped back. Kenshin eyes suddenly widened and his faced paled until he was nearly white. Then he started screaming again. Everyone watched with fascination mixed with horror at what was unfolding before them.

From the stump on Kenshin's shoulder, the flesh and tissue started to bubble and expand. The bones slowly started growing back with veins and muscle tissue slowly following afterwards. Flesh began covering the exposed muscle and within seconds Kenshin's arm looked as if it had never been removed.

To say everyone was impressed by what had just transpired was an understatement. Even Retsu Unohana, who was the epitome of calm, watched mouth agape, as Kenshin grew a new limb.

Kenshin looked as if he was about to be sick. He was panting heavily and sweat was dripping from his face. Having his arm grown back was twice as painful as having removed. His new appendage started pale but slowly started gaining some color as blood once again began flowing through it. He tried to move it and while he was able to, there was no feeling in his arm at all.

"It seems the experiment was a success," Mayuri said as he examined Kenshin's arm. "Now let's get you back to the lab and record our findings."

"I am afraid, Captain Kurotsuchi, that I cannot allow you to take Kenshin back to the Twelfth Division without giving him a thorough examination," Unohana stated.

"He was saved by my drug and therefore I have every right to examine him further," Mayuri said tersley.

"Captain Kurotsuchi, we are all grateful to you for saving his life, but I must insist on treating Kenshin myself," she said firmly.

"You're both forgetting something," Kenpachi spoke up. "He's my subordinate; I'll decide where he goes. Now let him go, Kurotsuchi, Captain Unohana will take care of him."

"If it makes you feel better, Captain Kurotsuchi, I will send my findings over to you once my examination is complete," Unohana said before another argument could begin.

Mayuri looked like he was about to protest, but he was smart enough to realize that he was outnumbered.

"I want those reports by the end of the day!" he demanded.

"You have my word," Retsu said politely.

Without another word, Mayuri stormed off with Kenshin's old arm. Nemu handed Kenshin back to Isane and gave a quick bow before following after her master.

With the issue resolved, Kenshin was quickly placed onto a gurney and given a light anesthetic. Retsu ordered two members of her relief team to bring him to the Fourth Division while she and the remaining members would stay behind tend to the wounded. Before he and his squad left, Kenpachi stayed behind to say one last thing to Retsu.

"Take care of him," he said.

"I will," she replied with a smile.

* * *

"Now raise your arm," Retsu instructed.

Kenshin raised his arm parallel to the bed he was sitting on. After he had woken up in the Fourth Division hospital, Captain Unohana had given him an antidote to kill any traces of the poison that may have been left behind, and some blood to replenish what was lost. Kenshin was grateful Captain Unohana conducted the tests on the appendage he hesitantly called an arm. The thought that his original arm was probably being dissected on some lab table by that sick clown was just too disturbing.

"Can you make a fist?" Kenshin nodded and clenched his fingers together.

Retsu placed her hand on Kenshin's arm. His pulse was normal and his muscles where all in place along with his bones.

"Do you feel my hand on your arm?"

"Yes," Kenshin answered.

He found it hard to speak to Captain Unohana. He hadn't seen her in three days since she scolded him. Now that he was in front of her again, though his mind kept telling him to say something, he found it hard to form anything other than a few words.

"Well, Kenshin, I would have to say that despite the rather traumatic experience you have suffered, your arm works just as fine as it normally would," Retsu stated with a kind smile as she once again continued writing down her findings for Captain Kurotsuchi. "You may go now."

"A-Actually, Captain Unohana, there's… something I need to say," Kenshin said nervously. Retsu regarded him with a curious stare and waited patiently for him to continue. "About what happened three days ago… I'm… sorry that I worried you and I'm sorry that I made you angry. I know what I did was stupid and I never should have even thought about it, but-"Retsu cut him as she wrapped her arm around him.

"Your apology is accepted," she said lovingly. "I was never mad at you, Kenshin; that could never happen. I was only upset because I was worried about you."

She still cared. She didn't hate him. He returned Captain Unohana's embrace and suddenly felt like he was home again. After she pulled away, she dried his eyes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

He was glad this happened before the door suddenly burst open and his captain strode into the room.

"Well, how is he?" Kenpachi asked impatiently.

"Perfectly fine, Captain Zaraki, but might I ask that next time you knock before entering?" Unohana said politely.

"Whatever," Kenpachi said with a casual shrug. "So you ready, kid?" Kenpachi asked.

"For what, sir?" Kenshin asked finding himself dreading the answer somewhat.

"Yer promotion party, what else?" Kenpachi asked as if it were obvious.

"Promotion?" Kenshin asked with wide eyes.

"Of course! How many Seventh Seats do ya know that killed two Hollows that powerful in a single day?"

"I-I'm honored sir!" Kenshin said excitedly.

"Good 'cause from this moment, yer my new Sixth Seat," Kenpachi said with a grin. "Get yer shit together and get over to the barracks."

"Yes sir!" Kenshin said as he hoped off the bed. He gave a quick hug to Captain Unohana, who congratulated him and all but sprinted out the door.

Before Kenpachi could leave after him, he felt a soft hand on his arm.

"Please, stick around, Captain Zaraki," she said with a sweet smile. "You are overdue for a physical and since you're already here, I think it would be best to get it done now."

"I don't need a-" Kenpachi started, but stopped when he felt the air in the room get much thicker.

"I really think it would be best to get it done, Captain Zaraki," Retsu repeated and suddenly, Kenpachi was given a clear picture as to why everyone in the Seireitei feared this woman. Could it be that he was actually a little afraid right now.

"S-Sure, fine," he said after staring at the _too _serene smile on her face.

"Please sit and remove your haori and kosode," she said while indicating to the bed Kenshin had been sitting on. Kenpachi, still somewhat afraid of what would happen if he said no, did as she said.

The number of battle scars that blemished Kenpachi's muscular torso would have made anyone else flinch, but Retsu had seen much worse in her hospital and on the field. She merely regarded him with her natural smile as placed the ear buds of her stethoscope into her ears and placed the chest piece on his chest.

"Deep breath," she instructed.

Kenpachi let a deep, annoyed and bored breath. He did this several more time while aimlessly staring off into space. He didn't have time for this. There was a part at his Division. Shunsui Kyōraku was bringing the sake for the occasion and he did not want to miss the goof stuff.

"That was a kind thing you did for him," Retsu stated, bringing Kenpachi out of his reverie.

"What are ya talkin' about?" he asked curiously.

"Promoting Kenshin," she answered as she removed the stethoscope from her ears. "After all he has been through today, he deserves some good news," she said before taking hold his wrist and checking his pulse.

"He earned it," Kenpachi said with a shrug.

"Why did you not make him your Fourth Seat? You still do not have one, correct?" she asked curiously.

"I want 'em to work for it. If that kid still has somethin' ta shoot for, he'll keep on getting' stronger," Kenpachi explained.

"Well, your methods, while extreme, have certainly yielded very good results," Retsu complimented.

"Well I…can't take all the credit," Kenpachi said, his tone somewhat apprehensive. "If you weren't around to fix 'em up, he probably wouldn't be as strong as he is now."

"With you serving as his inspiration, I highly doubt that," Retsu said with a sweet smile.

"Well, in any case, thanks for looking after him for me," Kenpachi said.

"It's no trouble at all," Retsu replied. "And thank you."

"For what?"

"For taking good care of him for me as well," she answered.

Kenpachi felt his heart race when he suddenly felt Retsu's hand give his a gentle squeeze. He looked up from his hand to see Retsu smiling at him. This one felt…different from her usual one. Kenpachi couldn't help, but smile back and for several seconds all they did was stare at each other. He had almost completely forgotten that she was still holding onto his hand.

"Well…anyway," Kenpachi started awkwardly. "Do ya wanna come to the kid's party tonight? I know he'd like to have ya there."

"I'd love too," Retsu responded.

* * *

After a quick wash-up, Kenshin made his way to the Squad Eleven courtyard. As soon he pulled back the doors, several confetti poppers and shouts of congratulation went off. His captain, Yachiru, Ikkaku and Yumichika were there. He was surprised to see Rangiku and Gin in the crowd, along with Captain Kyōraku and his lieutenant, Nanao.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kenshin asked Rangiku.

"Boy, you really are thick aren't you?" Rangiku asked with a smirk.

"Didja really think we'd miss yer big promotion? We're hurt, Kenshin," Gin said jokingly.

Kenshin let out light chuckle and hugged his sister and best friend.

"Congratulations, Mr. Hogasha," Captain Kyōraku said with a tip of his hat while Nanao just nodded.

"Thank you for coming, sir," Kenshin said with a bow.

"Don't mention it," Shunsui said with a dismissive wave. "In fact, I should be thanking you for saving two of my men. Your captain told me about what happened to you today. If any deserves a party, it's you."

"Killin' two Menos in one day ain't no joke, Kenshin," Gin added as he gave Kenshin a friendly pat on the back.

"Neither is getting your arm hacked off," Ikkaku added mirthfully.

"Yeah, that was a lot fun," Kenshin said dryly.

"I can't believe that monster is allowed to do that!" Rangiku stated angrily. Ikkaku and Yumichika had told her what happened after Kenshin had been taken to the Fourth Division. She was livid at first, but after learning that her brother was safe, she calmed down somewhat.

"Well there's nothing I can do about it now," Kenshin said with a sigh. "At least I still have two arms."

"Hey, no depressin' talk!" Kenpachi said irately. "We're here to party! Now did ya bring the sake, Kyōraku?"

"Of course," Shunsui said, as he took the small crate Nanao was holding and pulled out several bottles of sake.

Everyone's attitude suddenly turned festive as they each grabbed a bottle. Gin passed around some dried persimmons he had brought with him, while Yachiru feasted on her personal supply of candy and Ikkaku began cutting up the roasted pork.

Soon everyone was laughing and having a good time. Rangiku had her arm slung around Gin's shoulder and her cheeks were slightly pink and her speech was slurred. Kenshin had learned a short time ago that his sister enjoyed sake a bit too much and had often been forced to carry her back to her own division when she made herself too drunk to walk. Everyone else had a decent buzz going, except for Nanao, who refused to be a part of the debauchery and was basically only there to make sure her captain got back to their squad barracks.

"Hey, kid, why aren't ya drinkin'?" Kenpachi asked. He noticed Kenshin was not drinking at all.

"Well, I really don't drink, sir," Kenshin responded. Truth be told, he never really saw the appeal in alcohol. To him, it just made people act stupid and do things they would regret when they sobered up. After cleaning a fair amount of his sister's vomit from his uniform, he decided that alcohol was a vice he definitely didn't want to partake in.

"Come on, Kenshin, lighten up," Ikkaku said as he tossed Kenshin a bottle of sake.

"I don't know…" Kenshin said as he eyed the bottle. Unfortunately, the decision was taken from him, when Kenpachi pulled his head back and shoved the bottle into his mouth. Kenshin gagged and pushed the bottle away, is throat burning.

"Half the bottle, not bad," Kenpachi said as finished the rest of the sake.

"What the hell?" Kenshin shouted in between coughs while everyone, sans Nanao, just laughed. "You could have killed me!"

"Yeah, but how do you feel now?" Kenpachi asked unfazed by Kenshin's outburst.

"How do I fell?" Kenshin asked incredulously. "I feel…I feel…not too bad actually," he said when he started feeling an odd tingling sensation. He somehow felt lighter and stress-free. "Can I have another one?"

"Atta-boy!" Kenpachi said with a grin as he handed his new Sixth Seat a fresh bottle.

"Finally, he gets the stick out of his ass!" Rangiku cheered and raised her bottle.

"Here, here!" Gin added, raising his glass as well.

"You'd know a thing about getting a stick up your-Ow!" Kenshin was cut off when his sister smashed her fist into her favorite spot on his head eliciting laughs from everyone…except Nanao who merely rolled her eyes.

'_Idiots,' _she thought.

Kenshin began drinking his new bottle and this time with longer swigs. A new bottle was supplied to him just as he finished the bottle. Three bottles later, Kenshin's cheeks were pink, his eyes were glazed over, and every so often he let out a hiccup.

"Hit me!" he slurred.

"Kenshin maybe you've had enough?" Yumichika suggested growing slightly worried for his fellow squad mate.

"I'll tell you when I've had enough, Peacock!" Kenshin shouted.

Yumichika gaped in shock at the insult. "How dare you!" he screeched.

"Relax, Yumichika," Kenpachi said after taking another sip from his bottle. "The kid's enjoyin' himself."

"He doesn't know he's enjoying himself, he's drunk!" Nanao stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh what, Nanao, you've just decided that I'm drunk?" Kenshin slurred irately. "You can't just decide that I'm drunk! That is _my _decision!"

"That's right, little brother!" Rangiku cheered before passing out onto Gin's lap.

"My, this seems like quite the party."

Everyone turned the heads to see Captain Unohana and Isane approaching. Both were carrying baskets of various assorted treats that Captain Unohana had made herself for the event.

"Good evenin', Cap'n Unohana," Gin greeted. "What took you so long?"

"I had some business with Captain Kurotsuchi that needed attending to," She answered. "I'm terribly sorry we arrived so late."

"Don't worry about it," Kenpachi said dismissively. "What matters is that yer here now so sit down and relax."

"And someone get me another bottle!" Kenshin slurred impatiently.

As soon as Retsu saw the number of sake bottles surrounding Kenshin, she dropped her basket and the tension in the courtyard increased to the point where unseated members began to pale. The good mood was gone and was quickly replaced by a feeling of dread.

"Is Kenshin drunk?" Retsu asked calmly.

"Kenny-Two says that only he can decide that!" Yachiru exclaimed.

"That's right!" Kenshin shouted.

"And who was that gave him alcohol?" Retsu asked.

Everyone looked at each other for a brief moment before pointing accusatory fingers at Kenpachi.

"Wait, what?" Kenpachi asked in surprise at being turned in by his own squad.

"Captain Zaraki, you gave Kenshin the alcohol?" Retsu asked with a smile.

"W-Well I-I…" Kenpachi stuttered nervously, suddenly feeling sober enough to fear for his life.

"Captain Zaraki is a great captain," Kenshin slurred. "I forgive him for shoving the bottle down my throat."

Kenpachi suddenly found himself sweating under Retsu's smile. She said nothing and turned to her lieutenant.

"Isane?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Isane stood at full attention just as fearful as everyone else.

"Please bring Kenshin to his bed. I will be there shortly to check on him," she said sweetly.

"Right away, ma'am!" Isane said before running towards the inebriated favorite of her captain and helping him to his feet. "Let's go, Kenshin," she said as placed a hand on his back and guided him into the building.

"Isane you are sooooo tall," Kenshin said in amazement. "And you're still so pretty! I wanna make you feel beautiful, Isane," Kenshin said as he started to tug on the hem of Isane's shihakusho. Isane yelped in shock and quickly removed Kenshin's hand a tried to get him to his room before he managed to completely undress her.

"Can everyone please return to their respective squads for the evening? I would like to have a word with Captain Zaraki," Retsu stated as she gave everyone that horrifying smile of hers.

"Aye, Cap'n!" Gin said with a quick salute before hauling Rangiku and his own ass out of there.

Nanao dragged her captain out as fast and as far away as possible. Ikkaku and Yumichika made a break for it and rushed inside to look for a place to hide while Yachiru followed thinking it was all some kind of game. Only Kenpachi was left. He had a very strong desire to run until his legs gave out… and then run some more.

"I will meet you in your office, Captain Zaraki," Retsu said as she made her way inside. "Please don't try to run. You and are going to a very important 'talk'." She gave him one last parting smile before heading to Kenshin's room.

Kenpachi sat stone still on the veranda where the party was not five minutes ago. He could only hope that whatever "talk" Retsu had in mind for him would be quick and painless.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note****~ Bet you all thought I was done with this story, huh? Not a chance. A series of events have occurred in the last few months that kept me from writing, which I've already explained in chapters to my other stories so I won't bother doing it here. Plus I've been awake for seventeen hours and I'm exhausted. I'd like to also point out that from this point on, I will not be using a beta reader. Between writing these chapters as slowly as I have and then waiting for my beta reader to send it back to me, this story was moving at a snail's pace. I'd like to thank Whitecloud, my former beta reader for all her help. She has made this story incredible and has taught me many things.**

**DISCLAIMER~ Bleach is the sole property of Tite Kubo, who is taking the series in a rather interesting direction with the final arc.**

* * *

The first time Kenshin had asked Rangiku about what it felt like to have a hangover, his sister described it as "the same feeling you get after you've banged your head against the wall five hundred times". His sister didn't know what she was talking about; Kenshin felt like he had just run at full speed into a wall around a thousand times. He opened his eyes and immediately felt his head throb. He didn't dare move, lest his head explode from the sudden movement. He decided he would spend his first day as a Sixth Seat in bed until his head stopped vibrating. He could only hope everyone would be kind enough to leave him be.

Unfortunately, it seemed Kenshin didn't know any kind people.

Three knocks on the door was enough to make it feel like his brain was trying to expand its way out of his skull. They weren't loud knocks, but to Kenshin they may as well have been banging on the door with hammers.

"Go away!" he groaned, but his visitor decided to come in anyway.

"I'm so sorry, Kenshin. I had hoped you were still asleep," came the soft apologetic voice of Captain Unohana as she stepped into the room carrying a tray of tea and water.

Kenshin didn't really want company at the moment, but he supposed someone as quiet and gentle as Captain Unohana was better than someone as boisterous and loud as Ikkaku or Yachiru.

"My skull is vibrating," Kenshin said with a wince.

"It's to be expected after the amount of alcohol you consumed last night," Retsu said with a hint of that maternal disappointment as she dropped a few seltzer tablets into a cup of water.

"Never again!" Kenshin vowed.

"Sadly, Kenshin, that is what they all say the first time," Retsu said with a light giggle.

"I didn't even want it! Captain Zaraki forced the first one down my throat!"

"Well do not worry; Captain Zaraki has learned the error of his ways. I saw to that personally."

Kenshin suddenly felt very sorry for his captain…whatever was left of him.

Captain Unohana helped him sit up on his bed and handed him the fizzing water she made for him. Kenshin drank it slowly and felt somewhat better than he did a few moments ago. When he handed Captain Unohana back the glass, she handed him the tea and then filled a cup for herself.

"I'm sorry about last night, Captain," Kenshin said. "And tell Isane I'm sorry too? I'm not sure, but I think I may have placed my hands in certain places."

"You did. When I came to check on you, Isane was struggling to keep herself decent," Retsu explained.

Kenshin blushed and hung his head in utter shame. Even if he was drunk, he still couldn't believe he fondled and possibly sexually assaulted Captain Unohana's lieutenant and his longtime friend. Now he could understand why Captain Unohana had to show up herself.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked.

"Well the blame isn't entirely yours," Unohana said trying to make Kenshin feel better. "I'm sure Isane will forgive you."

"That's good, but I don't think I'll be showing my face around the Fourth Division for a little while."

"Fair enough," Retsu said with a nod and sipped her tea. "I take it this means you will be spending the day in bed? I could ask Lieutenant Kusajishi and Third Seat Madarame to refrain from paying you any visits if you'd like."

"Thank you, but I think I'll be alright, Captain," Kenshin said with a weak smile. "I'll get some fresh air…eventually. For now I think I'll wait for the room to stand still."

"Then I will leave you to rest then," Retsu said with a serene smile as she stood and placed a quick chaste kiss on his cheek. "And congratulations on your promotion."

Then she quietly left, leaving Kenshin's face to be a shade of red brighter than any apple. Suddenly his hangover didn't seem so painful anymore. He would always wonder how Captain Unohana's greatest medicine wasn't anything administered by drugs or kido, but by her own warm presence.

He rested for about another hour before the room stopped feeling like it was floating on the water. When he felt confident that he could move without his head exploding, he sat up and got of the bed. The first few steps made him nauseous, but when he reached the door, he felt good enough to continue on. Maybe he would take a hot bath to soothe his aching body.

"Hey, Kenshin!" someone shouted. Kenshin gripped his throbbing head and cursed whoever had just shouted his name. He turned around and was about to tear into whoever dared be loud around him today, but restrained himself when he saw that it was only Renji.

"Not so loud, Renji, I have a massive hangover," Kenshin groaned.

"Oh sorry," he said, much more quietly this time. "Ikkaku did mention that you got pretty messed up last night. Oh, and congratulation on becoming a Sixth Seat."

"Thanks. Where were you anyway?" Kenshin asked curiously.

"I was getting a tattoo done."

"Another one?" Kenshin asked in surprise. "How many do you need?"

"Why don't you get one?" Renji deflected.

"I think my scars do the trick just fine," Kenshin retorted.

"A tattoo is more than just a drawing on your skin," Renji said as a matter-of-factly. "Mine represent all my accomplishments."

"And those would be?" Kenshin asked mirthfully.

"Screw you!"

"Well, my scars show how many times I've come close to death and how many times I've spat in its face," Kenshin boasted.

"They also make you a harder sight to look at," Renji said mockingly.

"Go to hell!"

Renji only laughed in response.

"So, Sixth Seat, you up for some training? It's been a while since we've fought."

"Do you not recall me saying I have a hangover? I'll train with you some other time. Right now I just want a bath and to relax."

"Alright, but watch out for Yachiru," Renji warned. "She said she was looking for you."

"Thanks for the warning," Kenshin groaned before continuing on to the baths.

As he walked, he got this bizarre feeling that he couldn't shake. He felt like he was being followed. He turned around and was almost certain he saw something vanish behind the corner at the end of the hall. He shook his head and attributed it all to the hangover. His head was just hearting him so bad he was seeing things.

Just as he was about to open the door to the baths, Ryuu felt two tiny pairs of feet collide with back of his aching head and send it straight into the door. His entire face crashed into the hard wood increasing his pain tenfold. He slid to the ground and held his head in agony.

"Morning, Kenny-Two!"

That voice…that damned voice!

"What the hell, Yachiru?" Kenshin shouted. "Why did you do that?"

"Because it's funny!" the little girl answered with a laugh.

"If I weren't in such pain, I'd strangle you!"

Yachiru ignored him and jumped onto his chest, eliciting another cry of pain from Kenshin.

"What do you want from me?" Kenshin screamed on the verge of tears.

"I want you to carry me to Lieutenant's meeting!" Yachiru stated with a grin.

"What?" Kenshin asked after staring at her for several seconds in bewildered silence.

"I have to go to a Lieutenant's meeting, and I want you to be my carriage!" Yachiru exclaimed.

"Why would I do that for you?" Kenshin asked irately.

"Because you like me?" Yachiru asked.

"Wrong."

"Because your sister, Big Boobies is gonna be there?"

"So?"

"Because Fox Man is gonna be there?"

"And?"

"Because the quiet girl from Squad Twelve is gonna be there?"

"Wait, what?" Kenshin asked suddenly very interested in the conversation. "Lieutenant Kurotsuchi will be there?"

"Uh-huh! All the lieutenants are gonna be there!"

Kenshin couldn't remember a time when he had ever been so grateful for Yachiru's childish insanity…mostly because he had never been grateful for it. And yet here she was, presenting him with a rare opportunity. He had the chance to speak with Nemu Kurotsuchi without her father capturing him and making him wear all his internal organs on the outside. If a chance like that met putting up with Yachiru for a day, he had to take it.

"Alright, but can I have my bath first" he asked. Great opportunity or no, he still felt like a crap and needed a hot bath.

"Hurry up!" Yachiru said before jumping on his chest one last time and the running off.

Kenshin groaned and carefully stood up to avoid a head rush. One day that little pink ball of concentrated sugar would pay for everything she had done to him, but for now he would let it slide for giving him this chance.

* * *

Rangiku never really cared for Lieutenants meetings. All she did was sit around listening to Chojiro Sasakibe go on about the usual stuff like report deadlines, updates on the status of the squads and other boring things of that nature. During peace time there was never anything interesting going on, so she could just sit there and relax until her name was called and she could give her report and nod whenever he asked her a question occasionally. Still, it was better than working on the stacks of paper work that had piled up on her desk.

She and the other lieutenants were currently waiting outside the meeting room for Sasakibe to arrive. To think she could have slept in just a bit more. She was still pretty hungover from the party the night before and wanted nothing more than to sleep until her head stopped pounding.

"Giddy-up horsie!" she heard the all too familiar voice of Yachiru shout.

"Stop pulling my hair!"

This time it was Kenshin's voice she recognized and she turned to the source of the shouts with a look of surprise. Kenshin was walking in her direction with Yachiru sitting down on his shoulders as she often did and was gripping fistfuls of his hair and using them for reigns. She would have laughed if she didn't pity him so much at that moment. Her poor brother was probably just as hungover as she was.

"Good morning," she greeted.

"It is?" Kenshin asked sourly.

"Maybe not from where you're standing," she said with a shrug.

"Did it occur to you to stop me after my second or third bottle?" he asked.

"Kenshin, I barely remember getting back to my squad last night," she replied.

"That's because you were passed out," he informed her.

"Well there you go."

Kenshin gave out a frustrated sigh. Sometimes his sister was utterly hopeless.

"Anyway, why are you here?" she asked curiously.

"Kenny-Two's my horse!" Yachiru exclaimed while tugging on Kenshin's hair some more.

"I told you to stop that!"

"So you just let her take advantage of you," Rangiku asked with a smug smirk. "Your first day as a Sixth Seat and your carrying Yachiru around?"

"I didn't _let_ her do anything!" Kenshin retorted. "I…I wanted to."

"You wanted to?" Rangiku asked unconvinced.

"Kenny-Two wants to see the quiet girl from Squad Twelve!" Yachiru informed.

"Will you shut up?" Kenshin snapped.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi? That's why you're here?" Rangiku asked. Then realization dawned on her face and a sly smile formed on her lips.

"Shut up," Kenshin warned. He knew what his sister was thinking and he didn't want to hear whatever humiliating thing she was about to say.

"You have a crush on Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," she stated.

"I do not!" he lied.

"You're so transparent!" Rangiku exclaimed with a laugh.

"What's goin' here?" came the voice of Gin as he joined his two best friends.

"Nothing!" Kenshin quickly answered.

"Kenshin's here to see a girl!" Rangiku told Gin.

"Oh?" Gin asked, his grin broadening just a bit. "Our lil' Kenshin's discovered girls? Congrats, Kenshin. Who's the lucky girl?"

"No one!" Kenshin protested, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"It's Nemu Kurotsuchi," Rangiku answered with a giggle.

Kenshin glared at her. His sister was loving every minute of this.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi?" Gin asked in surprise. "Ya have interestin' tastes, Kenshin."

"And a possible death wish," Rangiku commented dryly. "Are you too hungover to remember who her captain is?"

"Trust me, that man's face will haunt my nightmares forever," Kenshin responded

"And yer still interested in her? Ya got nerves of steel, Kenshin, I'll give ya that," Gin commented.

"I just want to talk to her," Kenshin explained. "I want to do it somewhere her captain can't show up and toss me into a cage like a lab rat."

"But you're too big to fit in a rat cage," Yachiru commented.

"Not unless Capn' Kurotsuchi cuts 'im up," Gin piped in causing Kenshin to pale somewhat.

"I think he's about to wet himself," Rangiku said with an amused grin.

"Are you not supposed to be my loving big sister?" Kenshin asked.

"Of course," Rangiku replied. "And as you're loving big sister, I'm here to teach you everything you need to know about women."

"I only need a chance to talk to her, Rangiku," Kenshin said with finality. He had no doubt that whatever teachings his sister had in mind were of a debauch and unhelpful nature.

"Well now's your chance," Rangiku said as she looked past Kenshin with a smirk.

Kenshin turned around, grimacing as Yachiru gripped on his hair to keep steady. His eyes widened when he saw the very object of his desire standing not five yards away from him. His body tensed and became rigid, glued to that spot.

"Ah, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi! Good day," Gin greeted with a grin that appeared more amused than usual.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Ichimaru," Nemu greeted back with that same soft monotone that Kenshin remembered so vividly. "Good morning to you as well, Lieutenant Matsumoto, Lieutenant Kusajishi, and…Seventh Seat Hogasha?" she asked in confusion upon noticing Kenshin there.

"H-Hi," Kenshin greeted lamely.

"Haven't ya heard, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi? Kenshin got a promotion," Gin said. "It's _Sixth_ Seat Hogasha now."

"Oh? Well then, congratulations, Sixth Seat Hogasha," Nemu said with a polite nod.

"T-Thanks," Kenshin said with a slight pink tint to his cheeks.

"Yep! Promoted…and available," Gin said in a sing-song type of way. "Perhaps ya could help him remedy that, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi?"

"What are you saying?" Kenshin shouted.

"Just tryin' to help ya out, Kenshin," Gin replied calmly. "Ya gotta be assertive, or else the girls will never notice ya."

"That's ridiculous," Rangiku interjected. "You need to woo them with words and lavish gifts. So go on, Kenshin, get on your knees take her hand in yours and swear your undying loyalty to her."

"Will you two stop it?" Kenshin cried out desperately.

Nemu merely looked on at the trio with a puzzled expression.

"I don't need your help! I can do this by myself," Kenshin said with finality.

Gin and Rangiku looked at each and shrugged before stepping back. Kenshin tugged Yachiru off his head and handed her to his sister. Now that all the obstacles out of the way, he final would be able to talk to Nemu…or so he thought.

Now that he was finally face to face to her with no sign of her crazy father around, Kenshin found himself at a loss for words. Any planned greeting or casual remark he had thought of saying had instantly slipped his mind. This left him staring at Nemu with an awkward nervousness while the stoic Lieutenant of Squad Twelve stared at him curiously.

"Um…" he mutered.

Behind him Rangiku sighed.

"This is embarrassing," she whispered to Gin.

"Guess he's just too nervous. It's hard ta watch," Gin replied in agreement.

"Why don't we give him a 'little push' then?" Rangiku asked with sly smile.

She slowly and quietly crept up behind her younger brother. She raised her foot and…

Kenshin yelped in surprise as he found himself being pushed forward. He lost his footing and closed his eyes thinking he was about to fall face-first into the floor.

Fortunately…or unfortunately…his face didn't hit the floor. It hit something much softer.

When Kenshin opened his eyes he saw black. The first thing he heard was the familiar gasp of his sister and the unmistakable snickering of Gin. He wasn't sure what he landed on, but it certainly smelt nice. He also felt something round and soft in his hand. On reflex, his fingers tensed up just a bit and gently squeezed whatever soft thing was in his hands. Then he heard a sound he didn't quite recognize. It sounded like…a soft moan. He stiffened and realized that he fell forward not into something, but into _someone_. The horror struck him when he remembered that the only someone in front of him was Nemu.

Slowing his gaze drifted upwards and he found himself staring into the pink tinted, yet still stoic face of the Lieutenant of Squad Twelve. His gaze shifted to the right and he discovered that the soft thing he squeezed was Nemu's left breast. Upon that discovery, he came to the conclusion that the soft cushion his face had landed in was her rather generous bust.

"Wow, Kenshin, ya move fast!" Gin said in between laughs.

"And here I was worried that he had no interest in women," Rangiku added unable to suppress her own giggles.

"Why is Kenny-Two holding "Quiet Girl's" boobs if he doesn't like her?" Yachiru asked in confusion.

Kenshin quickly pushed himself off Nemu and stared at her with a mixture embarrassment and fear. How was he supposed to talk to her now if she thought he was some kind perv?

"Uh…I…I…" he stammered as his face turned beet red.

"Try syllables and sentences, Kenshin," Gin advised.

"Would you shut up?" Kenshin shouted vehemently.

"Perhaps someone should take Sixth Seat Hogasha to the Fourth Divison?" Nemu suggested passively. "His face is turning a rather unnatural shade of red."

"He's not sick, Lieutenant, and I'm sure a rather 'small part' of him enjoys it," Rangiku continued to tease.

"What?" Kenshin shouted in outrage. His head was starting to throb again. The situation was not good for his hangover.

"Am I wrong?" Rangiku asked.

"Yes!"

"Then you don't find Lieutenant Kurotsuchi attractive?" she asked slyly.

"No! I mean yes! Wait, no I…I mean," Kenshin stammered practically on the verge of tears.

"What is all the ruckus about?" came the voice of Lieutenant of Squad One, Chojiro Sasakibe as he walked up from behind them.

"Nothing, sir," Gin said nonchalantly. "Just a friendly family conversation."

Chojiro looked towards Kenshin, the only non-lieutenant in the bunch. The boy's distressed demeanor indicated the conversation was hardly friendly at all.

"I see…well in any case, I hope you have finished conversing because our meeting is about to commence and I do not see a badge on this Soul Reaper."

"The circumstances call for his presence, Lieutenant Sasakibe," Rangiku informed.

"Oh really? Explain," the elder lieutenant ordered.

"Yachiru wanted him to come," she responded.

"Ah," was all Sasakibe could say. "Carry on then," he added before continuing forward.

It was an unspoken rule amongst the lieutenants that whatever Yachiru wanted she got and no would question it, whether out of fear or just simple appeasement.

"Let's go, Kenny-Two!" Yachiru shouted as she jumped back on Kenshin's shoulders and started using his hair as make shift reigns.

"Ow! I hate my life!" Kenshin shouted angrily as he walked forward towards the other lieutenants.

"That boy is just too much fun," Rangiku said with a giggle.

"Sure is," Gin said in agreement.

"May I ask a question?" Nemu spoke up. "Lieutenant Matsumoto, you refer to yourself as Sixth Seat Hogasha's older sister, however, your different eye color, hair color, skin pigments, and last names suggest otherwise. Is he truly your sibling?"

Rangiku smiled.

"Yes. Kenshin is my one and only little brother," she replied without a shred of doubt before following after the others.

"The physical evidence suggests that she may be in denial," Nemu said to Gin.

"Blood isn't everything, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," the fox man commented. "Sometimes all ya need is love," he said before heading off himself.

"Love?" Nemu asked aloud to herself.

She knew the word's definition and the implications of what it meant, but she didn't understand its true meaning having never experienced it herself-something she never gave much thought to. Based on the way those three interacted before her, she would say that based on appearances alone, they seemed to enjoy teasing Kenshin rather than love him. And yet, upon gauging Rangiku's response to her question, Ichimaru's claim of love did in fact seem plausible. Was love really all it took to form the obvious bonds those three shared?

Perhaps she would have to do some research on the subject. She really had no reason to delve into the search for this knowledge, but she was admittedly curious. Her captain and father believed that science could explain the unexplained. Love should have been no different.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note****: Nope, not quite dead yet. Been busy with a few things, some of them personal. I probably should have mentioned it last time, but I didn't find it relevant, but my therapist says it could be a cause for my slow writing. My doctor diagnosed me with depression. Dealing with it hasn't been easy, but I'm doing all I can with the help of therapy,my family, and medication. What does this have to do with my writing you ask? Well, both my doctor and my therapist agree that the key to easing my depression starts with finding a job, which is where all my time has been going. I've only been writing in between filling out applications and the other responsibilities I have. So far, I still have no job and that's just been stressing me out.**

**Anyway, I hit a wall with this chapter because it was originally going to be somewhere between three and six thousand words longer. I kept debating whether or not the pacing would have been off if I kept the original length. In the end, for the sake of getting a chapter out and breaking down the wall that kept me from advancing, I just split the chapter and posted it. Sorry that it's not much.**

* * *

The meeting wasn't really all that enjoyable for Kenshin. Aside from the fact that nothing really interesting was being discussed, Kenshin had to deal with Yachiru tugging at his hair and kicking her tiny yet powerful feet against his chest. There was also the fact that he couldn't even look Nemu in the eye after what he had done. Just recalling the softness of her breast in his hand was enough to make him blush profusely. Lieutenant Sasakibe had already asked him three times if he was feeling well and needed some fresh air and each time, he heard Rangiku snickering and could see Gin's smirk widened as far as possible.

'_Those two are gonna pay for this!'_ he thought to himself.

As he listened to Sasakibe drone on and on about matters that hardly concerned him, his eyes wandered around the room looking at the other Lieutenants. To Sasakibe's left sat the Lieutenant of Squad Two, though his physical appearance suggested the last placed he belonged was the Stealth Force. He too seemed uninterested in what Sasakibe had to say, munching away on crackers. Across from him was a blonde young man Kenshin assumed was the new Lieutenant of Squad Three. Next to the Squad Two Lieutenant was Isane, who was listening dutifully. Gin sat across from her. Kenshin couldn't tell if his best friend was even listening, but then again it was usually impossible to tell what Gin was thinking most of the time. Next to Gin was the Lieutenant of Squad Seven, Tetsuzaemon Iba. Kenshin remembered when Testuzaemon was a member of Squad Eleven and how quickly he left when he realized that he would never make it past Fourth Seat. Next to him was the Lieutenant of Squad Eight, who bore such a striking resemblance to Lisa, only she appeared to be much colder. Across from her and to Kenshin's right was the new Lieutenant of Squad Nine, a dark-haired man who appeared to be only a few years older than Kenshin and bore three gruesome looking scars on his face along with number 69 he recalled Captain Muguruma wearing. Then there was his sister sitting across from him, Lieutenant Shiba from Squad Thirteen to his left, and then there was Nemu sitting at the end of the table.

Having her so close made Kenshin's heart pound. No doubt she was looking at him with complete loathing for molesting her. He gathered the courage to turn his head just enough to get a good look at her from his peripherals.

To his surprise, she was glancing at him too. Their eyes locked in that moment. She didn't seem to be looking at him with contempt, but then again he had never seen her display any type of emotion since he met her. It made his desire to know what she was thinking impossible. Maybe she was angry and was just doing a very good job of hiding it. He had never met someone who appeared to be so emotionless. Even Gin gave you the impression that he was happy or amused, regardless of whether or not that was how he was truly feeling. Nemu just gave off no hint of anything whatsoever. What could have made her that way he wondered? Her father's obvious abuse maybe?

'_If she's not mad at me…maybe I can finally ask her…'_ he mused silently.

The meeting had gone on for another hour and Kenshin had to admit, Lieutenant life sounded rather tasking. He wondered how the others did it. They couldn't all be slackers like his sister or crazy little demons like Yachiru. He decided he would worry about that later. There was something he needed to do.

As everyone filed out of the room, he waited for Nemu to come out. He would let nothing get in his way this time.

"What're you doing, Kenny-Two? It's time to go back," Yachiru stated.

"Go on without me, Yachiru," he ordered gently. "I have something important to do."

"What? But I wanted to play keep-away with your zanpakutō again!" she whined

"I told you I don't ever want to play that game again!" the young Sixth Seat irately replied.

"But you love that game!"

"I do _not_ love chasing you around the Seireitei to get my sword back, Yachiru!"

"Then who else am I supposed to play with?"

"Ask Ikkaku; he told me he's always wanted to play that with you," he lied.

"Really? Okay then! Bye, Kenny-Two!" the pink haired lieutenant said excitedly before zipping off back to the Squad Eleven barracks to inflict torture upon Ikkaku.

Kenshin realized he was going to be in a bit of trouble when he returned to his own Squad, but he really needed to get Yachiru away from him. Hopefully she would run Ikkaku so ragged he would be too tired to enact vengeance upon Kenshin later. Now, he just needed to wait for Nemu.

As soon as her feminine form passed through the doorway, he took in one final deep breath and stepped towards her.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," he said aloud to gain her attention.

Her head turned in his direction and she gave him that same neutral, almost melancholic expression that she always had. He dropped to his knees and bowed before her.

"I'm sorry for touching you like that!" he exclaimed. "It was an accident! Please forgive me!"

"You look so sad right now," he heard Rangiku comment disparagingly from behind him.

Kenshin stood up and scowled at her.

"Don't you have a stack of paper work not to do!" he snapped.

"It's not gonna get done either way so I may as well enjoy the show," she replied with a sly smile.

"I think we've done enough, Rangiku," Gin commented coming up behind her. "Let's let Kenshin walk on his own two feet for this one."

"Thank you, Gin, you are very kind and _you_," he said pointing towards Rangiku, "ought to take lessons from him!"

Before Rangiku could retort Gin placed his hand over her mouth and started pulling her away.

"We'll leave ya two alone. Good luck to ya, Kenshin," Gin said as he walked away continuing to muffle Rangku's protests.

Well, Gin had officially been cleared for his earlier crimes, leaving only Rangiku for him to seek vengeance upon. For now, however, he had his chance and needed to take it.

"So, as I said, Lieutenant, I'm sorry for…grabbing you," he said with a light blush.

"It is alright, Sixth Seat Hogasha," she replied flatly. "I am aware that it was not intentional."

"Good…uh…?" Once again he was at a loss for words. Her near lifeless expression was incredibly off-putting. "So…how have you been?" he asked in attempt to make useless small talk.

"I have been well since our last meeting," she replied. "And yourself? Has your arm been feeling well?"

"Oh! Yes," he replied quickly flexing his arm to show her his fully healed limb.

"That is good. Master Mayuri was pleased with the results Captain Unohana sent to him."

Bringing up the crazed man that was responsible for his new limb caused Kenshin to feel a tad nauseous. The memory of seeing his own severed arm lying on the ground and the mad man standing behind him with his sword drawn brought a sharp chill up his spine. Nemu could sense his discomfort.

"I am sorry. I had forgotten that the event might prove traumatic for you."

"It's…alright," he said sounding rather unsure.

For a few moments he just stood there in silence. He had finally gotten a chance to speak with her and yet he had no idea of what to say. All the questions he had wanted to ask her and he was unable to voice them properly. Maybe this was just a waste of time.

"Well…I suppose I'll see you around, Lieutenant," he said somewhat miserably before turning to walk away.

"Actually, Sixth Seat Hogasha, I was wondering if you mind answering a few questions of mine?" Nemu spoke up.

Kenshin stopped dead in his tracks and felt his heart do flips. _She_ wanted to talk to him?! His hopes were instantly renewed and as he turned to face her once more, he was barely able to keep the grin off his face.

"O-Of course!" he answered. "You can ask me anything!"

"Good, we can discuss things on our way back to our division barracks," she said as she began walking.

"So…what did you want to ask me?" Kenshin asked curiously as he fell into step beside her.

"I'm curious as to the nature of your relationships with Lieutenant Matsumoto and Lieutenant Ichimaru," she stated.

"What about them?"

"You refer to each other as siblings, yet you share no blood relation."

"Yeah…I'm not sure I understand where you're going with this, Lieutenant," the Sixth Seat said with a confused expression.

"How is it that you can have such a strong familial bond with people who are not your actual family?" she queried.

"Just because we're not related doesn't mean I can't think of them as family," Kenshin replied.

"How could you have come to that conclusion?"

"I've known them for a long time. Ever since the three of us met we've always been together."

"Could you tell me of your time together?"

With those green eyes and that serene face, how could he refuse?

As they walked through the Seireitei, Kenshin regaled her on his time in the Rukon District from the moment he met Rangiku and Gin. He told her of the time they spent surviving and how their relationships grew as they kept each other alive. He even told her of his bouts with Shingo and how he and Gin had whittled his gang down to nothing after the miscreants burned their home down.

Nemu for her part reacted very little. Only a quick nod of the head let him now throughout his story that she was listening.

When he finished, Nemu seemed to enter a state of thought as she went over everything he told her.

"So it seems your relationship was based upon survival. The three of you together were a means to an end," she deduced.

"Well…yeah, the three of us made it easier to survive, but you make it sound so…empty," Kenshin replied. It hurt in a way to hear her reduce the love he felt for Rangiku and Gin to a mere act of necessity.

"I'm not following," Nemu responded in mild confusion.

"Well, sure we stuck together to survive, but we didn't do it because it would increase our chances of survival, that was just a byproduct of it," Kenshin explained. "We wouldn't have stayed together this long if that was just the reason."

"And why have you stayed together this long?"

"Because we're family. Families stick together always, good times and bad."

"I'm sorry, but…I just can't see the logic behind your words," she said, turning her gaze forward.

His answer hadn't been quite satisfactory. Love? Love was just an abstract concept; meaningless in the face of pure concrete fact and evidence. Yet, he made it seem as if facts did not matter, that logic nothing to do with it, that despite the very nature of things and the cold, hard facts, such a concept as love was something that was easily grasped without question or debate. She was surrounded by logic and fact every minute of every day; there was almost nothing she or her captain couldn't solve through science and experimentation. It seemed she would have to dig a little deeper if she were to obtain any answers on this conundrum.

Kenshin noticed they were nearing closer to the Twelfth Division barracks. Their time together was dwindling. Who knew when he would get another chance like this?

"Well, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, if you don't mind then there are some things I'd like to ask you too," he said tentatively.

"Such as?"

"Well…you and Captain Kurotsuchi are related are you not?" he began.

"By blood, yes," she replied.

"Then if you're his daughter…why do you let him treat you so badly?"

He took the plunge. Now he could only hope that he wouldn't splatter all over the ground.

"I do not let him treat me badly," she answered as her eyes became somewhat downcast. "He treats me as he will. There is nothing more to it than that."

"But…the things he does are horrible," Kenshin stated. "He insults people, he tried to capture me and experiment on me, and he cut my _**arm**_ off!"

"And his last action has prolonged your career as Soul Reaper did it not?" Nemu countered gently.

She had him there.

"But you know he didn't do it to save me," Kenshin pointed out. "He took my arm, which is probably sitting on some lab table right now being cut open and-"

"Actually, Master Mayuri disposed of the arm after he syphoned the poison from it," she interrupted.

"D-Disposed?" he asked suddenly feeling a little queasy.

"Yes, he had it incinerated," she said bluntly.

Kenshin could feel himself turning green as his heart practically dropped into his stomach. It may not have been attached to him any longer, but his arm- the arm he was _**born**_ with- had been incinerated like it was trash! It would have infuriated him if the thought hadn't made him so sick.

"Are you alright?" he heard Nemu ask.

"I'm fine!" he quickly lied. Truth be told, he was ready to retch all over the ground.

"I am well versed in physiology, Sixth Seat Hogasha, and your skin discoloration, tenseness, and mild perspiration suggests that you are feeling rather ill," she stated expertly.

"I uh…I-I had a lot to drink last night is all," Kenshin said dismissively through a forced smile. It wasn't necessarily a lie.

She looked unconvinced.

"If you say so," was her soft reply.

"A-Anyway, Lieutenant," he continued wanting to get back on topic and the image of his arm being burnt to ashes out his mind, "I guess I'm just wondering: why does he treat you like that?"

"It is who Master Mayuri is," she said simply.

"And you're okay with that…even if it hurts you?"

"I…don't really know," she replied with a sort of distant look. "But I do know that I desire to serve him."

Kenshin could understand wanting serve a superior or even a parent, but if they were giving you the respect that was due or the recognition you had earned, was it really worth it? Even if they were you're parent, could one really withstand the abuse and loyally serve. He never had real parents so how could he understand? Sure he looked up to Captain Unohana as a mother figure, but Captain Kurotsuchi was Nemu's real father.

A few minutes later, the two of them reached the entrance to Twelfth Division barracks. This was as far as Kenshin would dare go. He had no desire to step into an area where Mayuri Kurotsuchi could get to him.

"I suppose this is where we must part ways, Sixth Seat Hogasha," Nemu said.

"I guess so. I…enjoyed talking with you," Kenshin said trying to be cheerful, but it proved difficult given the poor subject of their conversation and the lack of any real ground made from it.

"I did as well, though I still have a few more questions for you. That is of course if you will indulge my curiosity."

"O-Of course," he said doing his best to contain his excitement. "But uh…"

His eyes shifted into the barrack of the Twelfth Division. He did want to talk to her some more, but not if it meant walking into that monster's domain.

"I understand your apprehension so perhaps we should resume this after the next lieutenants meeting?" she suggested knowingly.

"That…that actually sounds very good," he replied with a relieved nod.

"Very well then. I will see you at the next lieutenant's meeting, Sixth Seat Hogasha," Nemu said politely before returning to her own division.

Kenshin watched her leave with mixed feelings. Their talk hadn't yielded any answers he was looking for regarding the green-eyed melancholic lieutenant of Squad Twelve. All he gathered was that she was incredibly devoted to her father despite all his obviously brutal flaws. Her sudden curiosity in him and his bonds with Rangiku and Gin surprised him. Why did it matter to her what the nature of their relationship was. What interest did the concept hold for a scientific mind like hers?

Hopefully, his questions would be answered during their next meeting.


End file.
